


Crystal Grumps

by baybop



Series: Crystal Grumps [2]
Category: Game Grumps, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-04-09 05:03:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 24,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4334891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baybop/pseuds/baybop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of the Homeworld and its attack on earth. Several stories intermingle and form together to create the story of how the crystal grumps form and live. The villainous Homeworld will form as well, creating an epic rivalry between those who want to protect Earth, and those who want to destroy it. Inspired by tumblr user Alligator-Jigglin-Fevers AU. Feel free to contact me on my tumblr as well: bay-bop</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Dictators

The Crystal Grumps  
Chapter 1  
The Dictators  
The Homeworld was strong, powerful, terrifying. No one dared step up to their power, and that included its citizens. The Homeworld had one goal in mind, and that was total domination. The military had grown to such an expansive level that even the strongest of rivals would retreat, and it was buit from the ground up by the dictators of the Homeworld. Two gems sat in a skyscraper, watching the hustle and bustle of their domain. An older, gruff gentleman frowned, looking down at the training grounds.  
“Who the hell did we put in charge down there, these guys are acting like a bag of dicks” said Geoff, the older of the two leaders. He cracked his knuckles, ready to fire whoever wasn’t meeting his standards. The younger of the two, a rounder man stopped him before he could do anything drastic.  
“Woah there Geoff, you literally fired the other sergeant a few days ago, we only got so many gems trained for that” Jons voice boomed, as it always does. Geoff huffed, relaxing back in his seat.  
“We have another attack planned on a whole new planet in like a week and these jackholes can’t even stay in formation. The last planet took long enough to destroy, I don’t want to waste any more goddamn time on these hunks of rock than necessary”  
Geoff, this planet has exactly what we’re looking for, good material for building up our army. We swat away the rodents of the planet and get to mass producing, snap snap done” Jon said, exaggerating every possible word he could, as per usual. Geoff just rubbed his temples. “Goddammit I need some kinda refreshment. Signal my secretary or whatever” the grey hued gem muttered, looking exhausted.  
“Alright whatever” Jon exclaimed, using excessive hand motions before pressing a few buttons on the hologram next to him. “You do know you can do this yourself right? Like, I’m not your bitch” he said, as the door behind them slid open. Geoff just waved him off as a dapper young gem trotted in.  
“Good morning sir, hope your mornings been just top!” exclaimed the green gem through a perky accent. His gem protruded straight out of his face, giving him an even goofier look than his already lanky shape provided.  
“Gavin, bring me something that will distract me from the shitshow I’m watching right now. And stop saying words that aren’t fuckin real” Geoff said, without even turning around. He rubbed the grey gem on his lower arm, ready to go down there and show those grunts what a real warrior looks like.  
“Yes sir, right away. And might I add that you look real spiff today” said Gavin. Jon held back a snicker, anyone calling his comrade spiffy was about the most ridiculous thing he could imagine.  
“Get the fuck out of my office” Geoff said without even turning around. “And bring back what I need quickly or ill launch you out the fuckin window”  
“Woah, someones full of the vin today” Gavin muttered as he walked out of the room. He walked over to the nearest hologram, trying to summon something cold to calm Geoff’s nerves.  
“Sounds like your peppy attitude didn’t work today either, huh dude?” said a sarcastic pink gem working diligently at his desk.  
“Oh shut up Arin, you nob. You should just be grateful that Jon is actually civil to you, whereas Geoff treats me like absolute mung.”  
“Well if you stop using stupid words like Mung maybe he’d treat you like a decent assistant” snarked back Arin. Arin had been working for Jon a long time, and he would even consider themselves friends. Somehow even though Gavin had been working with Geoff for longer than even Arin remembered, Gavin still managed to get kicked to the curb every time he made an effort. It was actually pretty funny.  
Gavin finally got what he needed from the hologram, and returned to Geoff’s office, where his gem was glowing so brightly Gavin could’ve sworn he was ready to destroy the whole field of soldiers. Jon had very clearly given up on trying to calm him down, so he just reclined himself and waited for it to happen.  
“Uhh, here you go sir, just like you asked. You, uh doin okay Geoff?” Gavin asked, placing the drink down carefully before taking a few steps back as a precaution. Geoff didn’t respond, he simply took the drink and sipped it slowly.  
“No, I’m fine. I’ll go talk to whoever’s in charge later, like a calm reasonable dictator”  
Jon finally snapped, rolling his head back in laughter “Yeah whatever, that guys head’s gonna be served up for dinner, fuckin hilarious” he cackled. Geoff simply stood up, turned to the exit, and walked out. Gavin watched him leave, and knew that this wasn’t going to end well.


	2. The Warriors

“You useless maggots, summon your weapons faster! My prisoners can summon faster than you, and theyre shackled to the ground! You would be blasted to smithereens in seconds, which honestly would probably be for the best!” roared a powerful voice, barking orders at the grunts. “We have an attack planned in one week and at this rate a bunch of slugs could eat you alive, Lets get going!”  
Ryan smiled as he paced back and forth, watching his warriors sweat. Some of them even looked like they were tearing up. “Lets go you hunks of gravel, Get your weapon ready for war, or at least keep yourself from passing out. Save yourself the embarrassment”  
A younger gem in the crowd kept up easily, summoning her weapon quickly and efficiently. She grinned rather darkly as the gem next to her looked as if he was ready to fall to the ground. “Aw c’mon, really? Don’t be a lame ass” The red gem said, summoning her scythe from the crescent shaped gem under her eye.  
Ryan noticed the gem that was near exhaustion, and walked over to him. “Well looks like you’re pretty tired huh?” he said, almost sympathetically. The red gem stepped her game up, hoping to impress her superior. “Only weak gems get tired” he snarled, digging his arm into the gems stomach, causing the gem to almost immediately disappear into its gem. He left it on the ground before walking away. Before returning to his position, he huffed tiredly and turned back to the red gem, who was very clearly showing off at this point. sucking up won’t get you anywhere either Lindsay. Do the exercise as they should be done” he warned, turning back up to his previous position. Lindsay frowned slightly, but she was determined to prove herself. She was sick of being the grunt.  
Suddenly, one by one, the gems stopped doing their routines, watching as a grey gem creeped up behind the malevolent yellow sergeant.  
“What do you think you’re doing you lazy boulders, get your asses in gear!” He yelled. Suddenly a chill went down his spine as the softest, and most piercing voice reached his ear.  
“Hello Ryan” Geoff hissed, watching the fear rise in the gems body. I see training isn’t going as well as I was hoping” he said, looking into the crowd of silent soldiers. “I think we should show them what a real warrior looks like. For motivation”  
Ryan turned around slowly. “Oh, uh that shouldn’t be necessary sir, I h-have it totally under control”  
Lindsay hid a smile, thrilled at how terrified her superior looked. It wasn’t often that she could watch Ryan be completely mortified.  
“Aw, don’t be silly Ryan, just a small demonstration, you and me. It would be rude to refuse them the privilege” Geoff smiled, holding his right hand over his left lower arm, the Hematite on his arm glowed before a small, but terrifying pistol was summoned into his hand. “Don’t worry, It’s all in the name of education” his voice was so calm it was petrifying.  
Ryan gulped before nodding “Y-yes sir” he stuttered. The Gold that rested in the lower back of his head glowed before a crown wrapped around his head. Suddenly his telekinetic abilities kicked in at full magnitude. “I’m ready w-when you are sir” he stammered, levitating a few rocks form the field, his crown glowing brightly  
“Very Good Ryan” Geoff said almost excitedly. Geoff held up his pistol, examining it before nodding at Ryan. “I’ll even give you the first move”  
Ryan gulped before taking the rocks he had levitating, and began spinning them around in the air, preparing to hurtle them towards his opponent. Geoff simply sighed and let out a few clear shots, destroying the rocks, leaving Ryan weaponless temporarily. “Really Ryan, stop going easy on me” he said in a bored tone, fiddling with his weapon.  
Ryan’s eyes darted around before he began levitating metal pieces, throwing them at Geoff, who swiftly moved out of the way, and shot three bullets directly at Ryan. Ryan managed to narrowly avoid them, using his telekinetic abilities to change their course, but couldn’t grasp them long enough to use them on Geoff. While Ryan was distracted avoiding the bullets, Geoff darted right behind Ryan, holding the barrel of the gun to the base of the sergeants head, right where the gold gem rested.  
“Ryan, I’m very disappointed, I thought you were going to do so much better than that “He cooed, lightly pressing the trigger. “It really is a waste to have such a poor fighter training my future warriors”  
“Wait, wait! I can do better! I-I just need a few more days and these grunts will be the best warriors you’ve ever seen sir!” Ryan nearly begged, terrified for his life.  
“I certainly hope so” Geoff agreed coolly, pulling the gun away from the gem. “Now get back to work” he huffed, walking away from the field.  
Lindsay’s eyes were wipe open, shocked at how quickly Ryan crumbled at their ruler’ s feet. She didn’t say a word, but she knew that one day she would be the perfect warrior, better than even Ryan. Geoff wouldn’t believe how good she would be.  
Ryan attempted to compose himself before turning to face his audience. “You heard me you wastes of mineral, get working!”


	3. The Ninjas

Across the military base, two warriors stood face to face. The bowed their heads to each other before summoning their weapons, and attacking full force. The two figures sped through the arena at incredible speeds, some would have trouble seeing the two warriors at all. Several attacks and metallic slices appeared and disappeared before the two figures stood face to face and bowed, finishing their sparring match.   
“Damn Brian, that’s gotta be our record for ‘Most kickass sparring match ever’ grinned a tall, bushy haired gem. “We gotta celebrate big time, like full on party big time” laughed the warrior.   
Brian just glared, as he usually does.  
“Yeah, yeah I KNOW we already have a bunch of warnings telling us to ‘keep on task’ and ‘train for the attack coming up’ but we gotta have some fun too man!” Said Dan. “They aren’t gonna get rid of us anyway, we’re like the best warriors they got” He said, resting on the stairs, throwing his head back, “I think we should pump up some music and get all kinds of crazy” he smiled, nudging Brian in the torso.  
Brian just glared at Dan, though Dan could tell he was up for a good dance off. “Hell YEAH Brian, that’s why we’re partners. The funkiest Gems there are” He smiled, getting ready to belt out his latest tune, Brian followed suit with the keyboard he kept hidden in their special training room. But just before Dan could hit the chorus, A round figure popped through the door.  
“Okay, what the FUCK are you assholes doing?” Yelled Jon, probably louder than necessary. “Ive told you guys way too many goddamn times to quit with all this music shit, you have one job to do, so fucking get it done!” he angrily growled. It wasn’t often you saw Jon mad, he was very much the calm to Geoff’s storm, but he was right. This was far from the first time Danny and Ninja Brian had been caught going against orders.   
“Sorry Jon, I know we gotta be training but you should’ve seen the sweet match Brian and I just had, it was beyond awesome!” Danny said, trying to lighten the mood, but he knew that this time he might’ve gone too far.   
“I don’t-“ Jon took a deep breath “I don’t give a shit how good your match was between the two of you, who wouldn’t hurt each other anyways” Youre goddamn lucky it was me who walked through that door and not, literally anyone else. Dan, you’ve got somewhere to be, get lost!” he said, his hands up to his temple. “Don’t be late, again”  
Danny’s smile faded, realizing that his decisions could very well start having consequences. “Alright Jon, I’m sorry. Its just- Music is so much better than this fighting shit. And you already said that the natives of the planet aren’t gonna put up a fight, whats so wrong with a little fun” He debated, hoping his charisma might win Jon over.  
“Whats wrong with it is that its not what you were trained to fuckin do! Your job is to kick ass, kill enemies, and do what WE tell you to do. This isn’t just a goddamn hobby, its directly violating orders! Now get the fuck outta my sight and get to your REAL training”  
Danny opened his mouth to counter, but he could feel Brians piercing stare on his skin. He instead bowed, and went on his way.  
Ninja Brian looked at Jon with his usual stare, waiting for orders. Brian was generally better at not being a total idiot to superiors.  
“Get outta here Brian, go glare at some prisoners or something” Jon said defeatedly, waving him off before walking out of the training arena. “This goddamn job is gonna get the best of me I swear to god”


	4. The Scientists

The Scientists  
Two gems worked diligently at a table, testing how gems react to certain sensations. The smaller black gem sighed, looking uncomfortable.  
“I don’t want to do this anymore, these gems don’t deserve to be test subjects. Where did this one come from again?” she said to her partner, examining the gem carefully.  
“Ryan dropped by and gave it to us, just said it was some unworthy grunt gem, couldn’t even take a hit from him. Relax Suzy, just do your job. You of all gems should know how important it is to do a good job”  
Suzy scowled at the white gem, clearly unhappy with his choice of words. “I’ll do whatever I think should be done, and this isn’t something I think should be done. This gem didn’t do anything! So its not built for taking a lot of damage, does that give us the right to torture it?” she ranted, a disgusted look on her face. “This isn’t right Jeremy, and you know it”  
Jeremy rolled his eyes, taking a bucket of an ice cold liquid and throwing the gem in it. “Suzy, get over it. We’ve got a job to do, get it done. Write down its temperature and hardness level.”  
Suzy frowned and didn’t move for a moment, but knowing what the Homeworld was capable of, she took out her notepad and did some measurements. “it’s dropped down to almost zero, but the hardness is still the same. I can also pretty much guarantee that this gem is in a lot of damn pain” she mumbled the last part under her breath. “Let’s move on to something else”  
Jeremy glared at Suzy before sighing. “Fine, let’s do something that will make you complain a little less. We have a few corrupted gem forms that need to be examined, let’s head down to the prison and take some notes”  
Suzy regretted her decision immediately. If there was one thing she hated more than inflicting pain on one gem, it was watching all kinds of tortured gems. “You know I hate that” she grumbled, packing up her notes. “Fine, let’s just get this done”  
On the way to the prison, her hologram activated. Desperate to talk to anyone but Jeremy, she stopped in her tracks. “Ooh this looks important, im gonna take this” she said sweetly.   
Jeremy just groaned. “Fine, but make it quick, we’ve got lots to do”  
Suzy nodded before ducking into a quiet street. She answered the hologram and a pale pink gem appeared.   
“Suzy, hey are you busy?” the soft voice asked “Ive got some more stuff to talk to you about”  
“Yeah Holly, I’m working right now, so make this quick”  
Holly sighed “Alright fine, but I think I found the perfect gem to talk to about that ‘thing’ we’ve been talking about?” she said in a hushed tone. “Just meet me at my place after work and we can talk more” she whispered.  
“Suzy looked over her shoulder, hoping no one heard. “Holly, now really isn’t the time, I’ll talk to you later” she said in a hushed, but serious tone. ‘My tight ass partner would kill me if he knew what we were trying to do”  
Suddenly Jeremy’s voice picked up from behind. ‘Suzy lets go, we have a schedule to maintain!” he exclaimed impatiently”  
“I have to go Holly, I’ll talk to you later” Suzy said quickly before shutting off the hologram and running back to Jeremy. “Sorry, one of the newbies asking for advice” she lied, hoping Jeremy wouldn’t notice.  
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter, I’ve got a session with a client anyways, you’ll have to do this on your own” he said with a bit of a growl. ‘Just don’t get all mushy with them like you usually do, and don’t get on the homeworld’s bad side again”


	5. The Representatives

Holly sighed as she put her hologram device down, hoping Suzy would show up. It had taken her weeks to get into contact with someone willing to break a few rules. Suddenly a bell rang, signalling the end of her break, and with a sigh Holly heaved herself back to her desk. Despite the constant fear of a dictatorship breathing down her neck, Holly quite liked the job she was built for. She helped gems every day, whether it be with assigning them to a new job or showing them around the city. She sat down at her desk and waited for her next client to walk in.  
In walked a fairly robust gem, orange in colour and kind in stature. Holly smiled at the gem, signaling for him to sit down.   
“Hi there, my name is Holly, how can I help you today?” she said with a smile, though it was clear that her words were mostly habit at this point.  
“Hi Holly, my name is Jack. I work with the political department and I need some information from you” said the orange gem, with a gentle but stern voice. “My higher ups need to know how many, er, problematic gems have been directed to our rehabilitation center instead of the prison. The numbers just really haven’t been adding up lately” Said Jack, shuffling through his documents.  
Hollys face tightened. She thought she was being careful, apparently not careful enough. “Well let me check our databases, the gems here follow a strict guideline that determines which gems are worth rehabilitation. It seems unlikely that a gem would mess up with such clear rules” She lied, pulling up the list of gems sent to the department for ‘misconduct’.   
“Well we have reason to believe that these mishaps have been no accident” Jack replied, still distracted by his papers. “I had hoped it wasn’t on purpose, but at this point it seems very likely, which is unfortunate. Treason is one of the most serious crimes a gem can commit, especially when given direct orders”  
Holly smiled tightly. “Of course, it will take some time to get all the records organized but I can assure you that we will get to the bottom of this. I will let you know as soon as I find anything suspicious” She said, hoping that Jack would be satisfied. One wrong move and who knows what they might discover.  
Jack stared at Holly for a second, which to Holly felt like a millennium. Jack then nodded his head, and stood up. “We appreciate it very much Holly, I can tell you’ll do the right thing.” He said happily before leaving Holly’s office.  
Holly relaxed her muscles and sighed with relief. She would need to get her plan in action before too long, she couldn’t hide her tracks for too long now that gems had begun to snoop around.  
Meanwhile, Jack was still nose deep in his notes, hoping there was something he had overlooked. As much as he cared about the Homeworld and its rules, he wasn’t a fan of how gems were treated when they made a mistake. Jack was very good at putting his personal opinions to the side however, especially when there was work to do. He pulled out his hologram device and dialed up Geoff to tell him how his encounter went. After a few rings, Geoff picked up, looking surprisingly relaxed.  
“Hello sir, I just got back from the meeting you told me to attend. A kind gem there is looking up the records as we speak” he said triumphantly, proud of how well the day had been going.  
“You didn’t get any information? Jack I told you to do one fuckin thing, figure out who’s going against my orders, deal with them. How long did they say they were going to be?”  
Jack was a little agitated, he was doing his best. “Well, she didn’t really give me an exact time, she just said it would take awhile” Jack said, not wanting to anger Geoff, especially since he was in one of his rare, not totally pissed off moods.   
There was a bit of silence on Geoffs end, then a sigh. “Goddammit Jack, get back here and get the name of that gem to me. I want a full investigation on her ASAP” He said clearly a little angrier than before.  
“But sir” Jack stuttered, but Geoff had already hung up. Jack peered behind him before it dawned on him. “Ohh, son of a bitch” he muttered quietly, looking up at the building he had just exited.


	6. The Researchers

Two gems sat side by side, typing away at their work stations. The gems were working in the research center, the hub of activity for all technological and informational knowledge. The hologram in the middle displayed a small, rocky planet; the Homeworlds next target. An orange gem tapped away impatiently, glancing back at the clock in the room frequently. The Purple gem took notice of his partner and laughed.  
“Got a hot date or something Barry, maybe a sweet rendez vous with a babe?” joked the purple gem, nudging him in the side. Barry just frowned, trying to focus on his work.  
“Something like that” He responded, not looking forward to the conversation that was going to follow.  
The purple gem grinned “Aw yeah! Barry I didn’t know you were such a gem killer, you gotta tell me man, if I gotta research another type of algae I’m gonna slam my face into this desk”  
Barry rolled his eyes. “It’s not a date Ray, I’m just getting together with a friend. No ‘rendez vous’ involved. And at least what you’re researching isn’t so… grim. I hate researching the natives of this planet, ! hate thinking about what’s gonna happen to them” He frowned, keeping his voice quiet.  
Ray gave him a funny look. “Dude you’re so lame, I’m pumped to see some gems kick ass! Being locked in this nerd jail is gonna drive me insane one day. Plus these ‘humans’ or whatever are boring. All their wars are so lame, I could cause the same amount of damage in like a week and I’m not even a warrior gem” he bragged, leaning back in his chair. “Anyways, back to the interesting stuff, is your friend hot?” he asked, leaning his head back in his chair.  
“Stop trying to change the subject. I mean, this is the first time in a long time that we’re taking over a planet that’s actually got living creatures on it. That’s gotta count for something right?” he said, swiveling his chair to face the now nearly asleep Ray.  
“You think too much into this stuff. I think it’s exactly what we need. Have you seen the warrior gems? I’m surprised they haven’t gone full anarchist on each other with how bored they must be” mumbled Ray through the arms over his face, now trying to blot out the light in the room so he could catch a few Z’s.  
“And that’s another thing, why is our military so big? It seems a little bit much in my opinion” Barry said, turning back to face his work station. “Whatever, it looks like it’s almost home time anyways.” Barry said, powering down his work station before stretching. “I’ll see you tomorrow I guess” he said tiredly, not bothering to wait for a reply.  
Ray lifted one arm up so he could see Barry. “Tell me how the hook up session goes alright?” He exclaimed tauntingly, before realizing he was stuck working for quite a while longer with no one else to tease. “Ah, dammit”  
Barry walked out the door before pulling out his hologram device, dialling up a number and waiting patiently for an answer. Just then a perky voice answered. “Barry, are you all done?” Holly answered, looking a little pale.   
Barry nodded. “Yeah, I just finished. And you better have a good plan, I could get in huge trouble for giving out the information you want” He said, checking over his shoulder to make sure no one was behind him. “And why do you look so weird” He said, noticing how shaky Holly was.  
“It’s nothing, just a tough day at the office. I’ll head over to my place as soon as I finish up here, I won’t be long. Oh, and I have a friend whose coming too” She said quickly, hoping Barry might not notice.  
“What!? Holly I told you this was confidential!” He exclaimed, though quieting himself down quickly. “This was not part of the plan” He growled, hoping no one had heard him.  
“Barry, please I know you said it was a private matter, but she can help! And trust me, she hates this shit hole of a government just as much as we do. She’ll be an asset I promise!” she said, almost begging.   
Barry thought for a moment. “Fine, but you invite ONE more person and I’m done, understand?” he said, defeated. “I’m risking pretty much everything by meeting with you”.  
Holly smiled. “Yes! Thank you Barry, you won’t regret it!” Okay, I have to go, I’ll see you soon!” she said happily before turning off the device.   
Barry sighed. “Oh man, what have I gotten myself into?”


	7. The Prisoner

Suzy grumbled as she walked up to the prison. The one job she hated more than anything, and here she was doing it alone. The prison was a large, ugly, depressing building. I was grey and drab, and surprisingly well kept. If there was one thing the Homeworld liked, it was keeping their citizens scared, and this building was certainly doing its job. Suzy begrudgingly walked into the building, turning to the counter, where a tall, bulky gem was standing.  
“Um, hi there, I need access to the prison. I’m checking up on the status of the prisoners” she stated, showing the dark green gem her badge and files.  
“Ah yeah, they told me you were on your way. I’ll lead you through the facility” Smiled the gem. “My names Matt by the way” he added on quickly, pointing at his name tag.  
Suzy smiled sheepishly. It was pretty unnerving to see a gem so upbeat and excited to work in this wretched place. “Suzy, nice to meet you” she said with a half-hearted smile. “Alright let’s just get this going, I only have one prisoner to examine today.” She explained, looking at her notes. “So if you don’t mind…” she said, handing him the form of the prisoner.  
Matt looked at the sheet and nodded. “Oh yeah, that prisoner, he’s… well he’s a handful alright” he said with a bit of a frown. “Alright, follow me”  
Suzy nodded, waiting for Matt to activate the door. The door was heavy and thick, and incredibly sturdy. It was certainly meant to keep whatever was locked up inside, inside. Suzy took a deep breath and stepped through the door, standing closer to Matt than usual. God, she hated this building. Matt noticed her discomfort.   
“Ah, there’s nothing to worry about, these guys know not to act up, especially for guests. The punishment for acting up? Hoo, you don’t even WANT to know.” He explained nonchalantly. This didn’t make Suzy feel any better.  
Finally after what felt like hours of walking, Matt stopped her at a cell. At first there appeared to be nothing inside, but once her eyes adjusted, Suzy could make out a small curled up, dark red figure in the corner of the cell.  
Matt tapped on the glass, annoyed. “Alright buddy, up and at em, you’ve got a guest. And be nice” He said with a sense of authority.   
Slowly, but surely, the figure rose to its feet. Suzy pulled out her notes, ready to record data. The figure wasn’t quite a gem, but it wasn’t a beast either. The figure was certainly more gem than monster, but something about him seemed…off.  
The figure emitted a low, guttural sound. “What do you want, I had my… session today” He sneered bitterly. Suzy wanted to leave, this poor being sounded so pained.   
“I’m not here to hurt you, I just need to ask you a few questions and take a few notes” She said timidly.  
There was a tense silence in the air for a while, then a ring echoed through the air, only to be quickly snatched up by Matt. Suzy nearly jumped out of her skin.  
“Oh, sorry about that, I gotta go quickly, just gotta talk to a coworker, I’ll be right back” said Matt. Suzy’s eyes widened.  
“So your just gonna leave me here?” she said, terrified.  
Matt nodded. “Uh yeah, just for a sec. Gotta help out the new guy. Alright, I’ll be riiight back” He said before trotting down the hall.  
Suzy gulped, and turned towards the figure, trembling.  
The figure chuckled, walking closer to Suzy. “What, don’t want to be left alone with me? That hurts my feelings” He teased, slowly making his way up to the barrier. As he approached, his figure grew. It was very clear that this gem was powerful.  
“N-no, I’m just… um” she stammered, pulling up her notes. “I have a few questions for you” She said, not sure whether to be heartbroken for the pain this gem was feeling, or petrified at what it had become.  
“C-could you please clarify what your crime was to put yourself in here” She said as calmly as she could.  
The gem laughed. “What did I do? Do you want the technical sentence, or what really happened” he grinned, his figure still blurry enough to hide exactly what he looked like.  
“b-both please” Suzy responded.

The figure nodded slowly. “Very well. I’ll tell you what I did. I was put in here for treason. But what I really did? I stood up for every gem. Every living thing period. All I did was vocalize my discontent. And what did I get? This. The very gems I was trying to help are now torturing me until I become… a monster” he growled, keeping his distance from Suzy.  
Suzy nodded, intrigued, but quickly remembered her task. “Y-yes, that’ll do. And your sentence, you would say your physical form has been changing?” She asked professionally, trying her best to hide her sympathy for the gem inside.  
The gem smiled sadly. “What do you think? You think I was built like this? Don’t be an idiot” he responded bitterly. He walked right up to the barrier, glaring directly into Suzy’s eyes with dark, bottomless eyes of his own. He towered over Suzy, and Suzy could do nothing but stare into the tortured eyes of this gem. “I didn’t want this” he whimpered. It was clear he was trying to be angry, but pain and sorrow overtook him.  
Suzy finally managed to turn away, writing down what she could shakily. Just then, Matt ran up beside Suzy. “Sorry science lady, but you’ll have to finish your survey or whatever later. Prisons closed to visitors for the day” He breathed heavily, making it obvious he had just ran his way here.   
Suzy nodded, looking back to the prisoner. She looked into his dark, sullen eyes one more time before getting ready to turn away. “Well, Thank you for your cooperation” she exclaimed, digging into her notes, trying to find the prisoners name, but before she could find it, the prisoner looked up at Suzy defeatedly.  
“The name’s Mark


	8. The Cannibal

Jeremy jogged half-heartedly through the military base, only slowing down when he came up to the right room. This room was hidden away, as it was meant only for the most elite warriors the Homeworld had to offer. Normally Jeremy would be forbidden from even knowing about this room, but his knowledge and specialty in gem corruption was perfect for the kind of training that took place in there. He took a few deep breaths and straightened out his clothing, double checking he had the right supplies, before entering the room. It was dimly lit, but another figure was clearly visible.  
“Its about time Jeremy, Ive been sitting here for like, half an hour! Man I could’ve been jamming out this whole time but noo, Jons gotta keep me from it. What an ass” Danny muttered, ranting to himself more than anything.  
Jeremy just let him vent before setting up the supplies. “Alright Dan, you haven’t practiced in awhile so don’t show off like you usually do” He lectured. He laid out the gem he had been testing on earlier on a table, then pulled out a few different graphs and devices. “Alright, let me just run the usual tests on you to see if anything changes after the session” He recited, as he usually does every time they train.  
Danny groaned, hating all the poking and prodding. “Man, this is so unnecessary. You guys keep telling me that this doesn’t have any bad side effects. And why do I gotta keep it a secret? I should be able to brag about my awesome abilities all I want” He beamed, letting Jeremy run his tests.  
“Dan, If Ive told you once ive told you a million times. Gem consumption is a rare ability, and other gems would be incredibly envious if they ever found out. Its for your own protection” He stated. Jeremy had a very strict script to follow when answering questions. Who knows what might happen if he said too much.  
“I mean, do you really think gems are gonna be so jealous of my awesome gift that theyre gonna attack me? That seems really far fetched” He stated. Jeremy set the instruments down before speaking.  
“We cant take any risks with a gift like yours, You are an incredibly valuable commodity to the Homeworld. Now, lets get started” He said, handing the gem to Danny.  
Danny frowned. “You know, ive never heard other gems talk about this kind of ability. And to be honest, sometimes I think it’s a little weird. What if the gem is still alive in there?” Dan asked, examining the gem in his hand.  
Jeremy sighed. What did Geoff tell him to say again? Oh right. “Don’t be ridiculous Dan, gems don’t come back once they release their physical form. Every gem knows that”   
“Alright, if you say so” Danny sighed before holding up the gem. “Alright lets get this done”   
Jeremy was an excellent liar. It had taken him and the other gems years to keep Danny in the dark about, well, everything. The only reason Dan and Brian were still training together was because Brian would never hurt Danny, making sure he never had to enter his gem state. If dan ever found out the truth…  
Before Jeremy could finish his train of thought, a terrifying crunch echoed through the room. Jeremy snapped his head up from his notes to see the gem in Dannys hand bitten in half. Dannys eyes glossed over as he savoured the gem before swallowing it and moving on to the other half.   
Jeremy shuddered. What Danny was capable of was sick, and he didn’t even know it. That gem was likely ready to come back any minute.  
Danny smiled, the pure power of the gem coursed through him as he finished swallowing the last half. Eating these dormant gems gave him such a rush. If he ate too many, who knows what he could be capable of.  
Jeremy perked up. “Alright Dan, im gonna run through the tests again, just remain still” He said, a little quieter than usual. Danny was a wildcard after he had just eaten.  
Dannys glossed eyes glared at Jeremy. “Im not really in the mood, give me a minute” he said coolly, revelling in the pure bliss he was in. “I don’t want you to mess my mood up”  
Jeremy scowled. “Dan you know I have to take the tests right after you finish eating, itll just take a minute”  
Danny slowly turned his body towards Jeremy, and a sick twisted grin came across his face. “I don’t think you have the right to tell me what to do, little science gem.” He taunted as he made his way closer to Jeremy. The gem in Danny stomach began to glow as he summoned his weapon, a deadly sharp katana. “Unless you really want to go there”  
Jeremy cowered beneath Dannys towering figure. “D-dan im just taking orders” He said, backing up slowly.  
“That doesn’t surprise me, a little runt like you only knows one thing. Tale orders” He grinned madly, raising his katana high. Jeremy held his arms to his head as Danny swung the sword down, but just before the blade could make contact, Danny stopped.   
“Ugh, oh man… oh shit!” He said, a bit dazed. He quickly returned his blade to his gem and blushed, rubbing the back of his head. “Oh man sorry Jeremy. I don’t know what came over me there. Alright, lets get these tests done” He said sheepishly, a little embarrassed. This wasn’t the first time he caught himself about to hurt someone. Eating those gems really did a number on him, but the high he felt after consuming them was easily worth the possible damage he might cause. And he hasn’t hurt anyone yet anyways.  
Jeremy just nodded, still shaken from the almost-attack. “Uh, yeah. Just let me get my instruments set up”


	9. The Rebels

Suzy, pale from her disaster of a day, knocked on Holly’s door. There was a moment of quiet before a scan popped up. Suzy sighed. “Is this really necessary Holly?” She said, stressed after the day she had. There was no response. Suzy just sighed, rubbing her forehead before standing in the stance used for typical scans. The machine whirred and scanned Suzy before blinking green, opening the door.  
Holly sighed, seeing it was Suzy. “Oh thank goodness It’s just you. Oh um, Suzy I want you to meet my friend, Barry” She said. Looking particularly exhausted.   
Barry sighed. “We aren’t friends. We just both have the same goal in mind. Ive seen enough of the Homeworlds plans to know I want nothing to do with them” He said, writing something down on a large table. “Holly said you could help us stop the homeworld from their planned attack on the planet Earth” He explained seriously. He certainly wasn’t dancing around why they were there.  
“Oh um yeah. Ive been studying gem mutation and corruption for years now, and the way they make new gems… it never ends well” She shuddered, rubbing her hands over the two black gems embedded in her upper arms. “All I know about the attack is that theyre planning to use it for gem creation and nothing else. What a waste of a perfectly good planet” She sighed.  
Barry scoffed. “Waste of a planet? Try a waste of millions upon millions of living species and billions of lives. This planet is inhabited. The dominant lifeform is highly intelligent, and from my estimates theyre only going to get smarter”  
Suzy’s eyes widened. “We’re attacking an inhabited planet? I thought… I thought the planet ws just a rocky lifeless mass! This makes what they’re doing so much worse” She whimpered. “Did you know about that Holly?”  
“Huh? Oh um, no Barry just told me today” She said distractedly, peering towards ther door often. “Its pretty awful”  
Suzy stared at Holly, puzzled. “Is something wrong Holly? You look like theres something bothering you”   
“’No, no its nothing… Okay it’s something. It’s a big something” She said, slightly panicked. “Today at work some hoity toity government gem came around sniffing his nose everywhere and I think they found something out… about me?” She said, trying to hide what she had done.  
Barry stood up and glared at her. “Holly, what did you do?”  
Holly played with her hair, “Well its not that big of a deal, its just, well, how should I put this… Ive been letting gems get out of prison sentences without telling anyone?” She stammered, with a guilty attempt at a smile on her face.  
“Holly!” Suzy exclaimed, taken aback. “Do you have any idea what they would do to you if they found out?” She said, running to the door and checking to make sure no one was outside.  
“well yeah, that’s the reason I figured we should try and escape to earth” She said, knowing this wasn’t going to go well.  
Barry grabbed Holly by the shoulders. “Holly, are you serious right now? This was supposed to be a small, planning- focused meeting, not a grand escape! And there was no ‘going to earth’ part of the plan either” He said, clearly shaken by the information that had been shared.  
Holly looked at Barry, incredibly guilty. “Barry please, Its only a matter of time until they figure out it was me, and you even said yourself, those lifes on earth don’t deserve to die! We can save them!” She said optimistically.  
Barry shook his head. “Holly, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound? Even if we did find a way to get to earth, which we wouldn’t, The homeworld would smash us within seconds of their arrival!”  
Suzy looked at the two arguing gems. “Barry we don’t have a choice! I think I know of a way we can at least get somewhere safer. The labs been working on more advanced teleportation pads, we can use those to get to earth.”  
Holly beamed, incredibly relieved that Suzy was on her side. “Thank you suzy” She said tearfully, grabbing Suzy’s hands in hers. “Barry I know you care about this planet. Mabe your right, maybe it will be all in vain, but we have to try!” She said, looking at Barry with hopeful eyes.  
“You... I barely even know you! Why would I risk my life with two gems ive only met recently, to save a planet I know nothing about, and leave averything I know behind? You two can save Earth on your own” he said in disbelief.   
“Barry please don’t-“Holly stammered, but Barry had already left. She looke dup at Suzy with tears in her eyes. “Im so sorry Suzy, I didn’t mean to drag you into this, You go home before anyone sees you, Ill turn myself in” She said, trying to be brave.  
Suzy shook her head. “No way Holly, ive been to the prison. Im not letting you turn into… one of those things! I don’t care if the chances of us saving earth are slim to none, Its worth a try” She said smiling. She tightened her grasp on Hollys hands. “Now lets get planning our escape”


	10. The Partners

Jon cupped his head in his hands, sighing deeply. “This is some shit, this is some real shit” He mumbled. Not only was he being forced to work late, but news from the grape vine is saying that they have several problem gems running amok. “I do NOT get paid enough for this shit”  
Arin knocked on the door. “Uh, Jon? You doing alright? Need me to bring you anything?” He asked quietly.   
Jon jumped in his seat a bit. “wh- No I don’t need anything” He grumbled. “What are you still doin here anyway?”  
“Well as your assistant I can go home until you do, also ive got nothing better to do” He said, thinking about all the boredom that awaited him at home. “Whats got you so riled up anyways?”  
“Eh, the politics branch is all up in arms about some grunt worker who let a bunch of gems get out of prison sentences. Now I’ve got to try and rally em up, even though I have WAY MORE IMPOTANT THINGS TO DO” He cried frustratedly. “This damn jobs gonna be the death of me, I swear”  
Arin hesitated for a moment before speaking up. “Well. I could help you, if you want. I’m pretty much just working on stuff that doesn’t need to be done. All boring stuff”  
Jon thought for a moment. “Yeah, sure. It’ll get this done quicker. All ya gotta do is look through databases to find these names”. Jon handed Arin a long list and pointed towards the computer. “Those are the gems that need to be put in prison, where they should’ve been in the first place” He expressed angrily. “Whatever gem did this, I swear..” He threatened before turning back to his desk. “You can just use Geoffs desk, don’t tell him I let you use it though”  
“Oh, yeah thanks” He said happily, flattered to be allowed to work in the same room, rather than be sent back to his station. “So, this gem… she just, sent them somewhere else instead of prison? Why would they do that?” He asked, sighing a bit at the massive amounts of gems the databases held. “Wouldn’t they be going to prison for a reason?”  
“I dunno, theyre probably one of those airheaded clods who think ‘every gems worth saving’, well I’ll tell you what, some gems just weren’t made right” he huffed, clearly letting the stress get to him.   
“I guess, but I mean, they’re risking they’re life to get these gems somewhere else. Theres gotta be a pretty big reason to do something like that”  
Jon sighed. “Look, I dunno what to tell you. Geoff tells me to do something, I do it. Not even I wanna get on that guys bad side”  
Arin nodded. “Speaking of which, why are you doing this? Isn’t this more a job for a secretary or something?”  
“Nah, these databases are only accessible to us higher-ups. Which is a pain in my ass, but hey, you don’t miss with the system”  
Arin smiled a little when Jon said Us. Arin always thought he was just an assistant, but Jon treated him like an equal. It was refreshing. “hey, sometimes systems are made to be messed with” He joked, trying to pass the time.  
“Oh theres a few systems I wouldn’t mind messing with, that’s for sure” Jon snarked back.   
The night passed much more quickly with the two of them chatting back and forth, and they even began having some fun. A while later they finally finished up hunting down all the rogue gems.  
Jon smiled, glad to finally be done. “Done, done, and motha fuckin done. You aint so bad Arin” He smiled, leaning back in his chair. “We should do this again sometime, except maybe doing something fun so I don’t feel like I need to shatter my own gem”   
Arin laughed. “Well I’m always just next door. No plans on going anywhere soon”  
Jon grinned. “Hey, you and me both”  
The two finally packed up and were ready to head out when Gavin ran up to them in a panic. “Oh, Jon there you are!” he chirped. Even when panicked he sounded chipper.  
“Goddammit, what now” Jon whimpered, desperate to just go home.  
“We’ve got a bit of a problem”


	11. The Escapists

Suzy and Holly sat at the table, scrawling plans over a large hologram.  
Suzy smiled and took a few steps back. “Alright, this looks about as good as we’re gonna get it. Step 1. Get to the teleportation pad that will take us to the old models of spaceships. Step 2. Get in a space ship and figure it out on the way I guess, and finally step 3. Get to Earth” She listed off. She sighed and sat down. “There’s no way we’re ever going to work”  
Holly frowned. “Hey, hey, hey, we can totally do this! We just have to avoid the gems that will be hunting me down, figure out which pad we need to use at the hub, learn how to drive a spaceship, and somehow drive it to the right planet. It won’t be that hard, right?” She smiled nervously. Suzy just looked at her. “Yeah, I get it. But we’ve come this far, there’s no turning back now! We can do it! We have our plans, le’ts get this going before they find us”  
Suzy didn’t move for a second before furrowing her brows and standing up. “Yeah, let’s get this done. If we don’t make it, at least well go down with a fight!” She said, pumping her fist in the air. “I’m ready when you are!”  
The two gems nodded before grabbing the hologram, which closed down into a chip. Holly put it in her pocket before turning towards the door. “Let’s do this”  
The black and pink gem quickly and quietly left the house, sneaking through the night to the main teleportation hub. It wouldn’t be too busy this late at night, but neither knew which pad would be the right one.  
Holly whispered to Suzy. “There should be a computer system near the back that lists all of the pads. You should be able to work it, it’s pretty similar to the one used in the lab” She murmured, checking behind her often. “I’ll keep watch while you find the pad we need, okay?”  
“’Got it” Suzy nodded.  
As the girls walked side by side through the street, the tension grew thick and their fear began to rise. They exchanged a nervous glance towards each other as they came up to the entrance.  
“Suzy, you can still go home, no one knows you had anything to do with this yet” Holly stammered. “this is too big, but you can still be safe.”  
Suzy shook her head. “I told you Holly, I’m in this till the end, no matter what the end is, okay?” Holly was just about to respond when they heard faint footsteps and shouting from behind them. Holly seized up, recognizing the voice. “It’s Jack!” She nearly shrieked through her whisper. “You have to get to that system now! I’ll distract them!”  
Suzy panicked for a moment before turning to the controls in the back. “Alright let’s do this”  
Holly turned to face the noises coming from up the street while Suzy ran inside. The pale pink gem on her back glowed before two crystalline wings emerged, easily over ten feet long.  
“I can sense them Ryan, this way” Jacks voiced shouted, as the two ran up towards Holly.  
“Good, I’ve been dying for some real action” He grinned maniacally, summoning the golden crown to wrap around his head. Ashe ran, he picked up several pieces of earth with his telekinesis, ready to throw them at his opponent.  
Holly saw the rubble flying in the air and shook before launching herself into the air, flying above the building.  
Ryan saw the light pink gem in the air and smiled. “Oh yeah, let’s get this done” He laughed, sending the rubble flying into the air.  
Holly quickly and efficiently dodged the rubble, watching it smash into the building behind her. “She grew even more determined, sending bouts of wind to turn the rubble around. “You call that a throw?” She yelled, the adrenaline rushing through her as she continued to dodge the rocks being hurled at her.  
Suzy gasped as the building shook with every smash of rock that hit it. She wasn’t having any luck finding the right pad, there seemed to be hundre3ds of them.  
Jack looked up at Holly, flying in the air. “Get down here Holly, Don’t put yourself in more trouble than you’re already in” He said, hoping to keep this peaceful.  
Holly just looked at him in disgust as she continued avoiding rubble. “I’m already a dead gem walking, might as well make it worth my while” She taunted.  
Ryan yelled out in frustration. “This is ridiculous, she isn’t even fighting back! She’s just flying around! Jack, I need your help” He growled, his anger showing on his face.  
“Wh- you mean-“Jack stuttered, taking a step back  
“Yes, If we want to squash this bug ne need a real weapon” He grinned, smiling. “We need to fuse”  
Jack stammered. “Well, I’m not really a- a fighting gem”

Ryan scowled. “Jack, let’s do this! Or would you rather tell Geoff that you couldn’t catch the little clod because you were scared to fuse?”  
Jack glared at Ryan. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Fine, let’s do this”  
Holly was still flying around when she noticed the lack of rubble. “So I see you have given up! She smiled victoriously. Suddenly there was a flash of white, and where there were once two gems standing, a single, incredibly large gem stood in their place.  
The amber gem laughed before summoning from the gem in his abdomen and head several sharp spikes, which began flying viciously around him. ‘Alright little bug, let’s see you avoid this!” laughed the gem.  
Holly panicked as she looked at the massive two armed gem. He had thick golden hair surrounding his head, and four eyes hiding behind a sheet of glass. Before she had a chance to react, tons of sharp spikes flew towards her. She managed to avoid the bulk of them, but her left wing was shattered by the spikes. “Suzy!” She screeched, as she plummeted to the ground.  
Suzy had finally begun making progress on the pad, but as she heard her name being called, the system began to blink rapidly. “Holly!’ She yelled out, trying to get away from the system, but the defence mechanism within the computer had locked her in the hub. “Dammit!” She cried, slamming on the doors.  
Holly hit the ground with a thud, and her other wing shattered into pieces. The fusion cackled, gathering up the spikes again, aiming them at the injured gem “Bye bye, bug” it taunted, sending the gems flying towards her.  
Holly closed her eyes, ready for them to hit her, but instead there was a bright orange light and shadow in front of her.  
She looked up to see a gem with a shield in front of her, causing the spikes to disintegrate on impact. “B-Barry?” She muttered.  
Barry stood his ground against the barrage of spikes, barely able to keep himself standing. “Get… inside” He huffed, holding his shield up steadily. “Get the pad open, I’ll meet you there”  
Holly nodded in shock before struggling to pull herself up. She stumbled into the building where Suzy was watching the whole thing. Suzy grabbed Holly tight. “Oh my goodness you’re alive!” She said, in disbelief.  
Holly grunted in pain and mumbled. “We need to get the pad open, now!” She muttered, peering back at Barry.  
Suzy nodded, running back to the system. “I think I narrowed it down, I just need a little more time” She said, typing on the computer furiously.  
Barry finally managed to stop the ongoing barrage of spikes. The fusion growled at Barry as it summoned more spikes. “There’s another one of you?” It yelled, smashing its foot into the ground, sending shockwaves into the earth, causing Barry to lose his footing.  
“Trust me, there’s more of us than you’ll ever know” He stated, managing to keep himself up before darting closer to the fusion. As he ran under the fusions massive legs, he took his shield and slammed it into their knee, causing the fusion to lose its stability  
“What the-“The Fusion stammered before it fell to the ground, splitting up on impact. Barry smiled before running inside, hopping the two gems would be dazed enough to buy them some time.  
“Come on, we need to go now!” He yelled, looking back as Ryan and Jack stood up and turned towards them.  
Suzy nodded, running to a pad. “This is the one!” She exclaimed, jumping onto one of them, helping Holly up as well.  
Barry hopped onto it, panic setting in a Ryan and Jack ran inside. “I hope one of you can stop them from teleporting” he said worriedly.  
Suzy grinned. “No worries” She said, summoning two handheld maces from the black gems on her arms. “I got it” She smiled as the pad beamed them away. As soon as they landed, Suzy pushed the two off the pad as she brought down the maces on the pad and shattered it before Jack and Ryan could get to it.  
Holly and Barry sat, bruised and exhausted on the ground as Suzy continued wailing on the pad. “We did it” Holly sighed, looking around her at the old ships that now surrounded them”I can’t believe we did it!”


	12. The Proposers

Geoff slammed his fist on the table with such force that both Jack and Ryan jumped in their seats. “You morons! No, you know what? Morons is too good for you. There isn’t even a word in my vast vocabulary to describe how absolutely useless you are. Three GRUNT gems outsmarted you, not with fusing, not with war tactics, but with ‘surprising’ you? Do you have ANY clue what this means for us?” Geoff raged, the gem on his lower arm nearly blinding the rest of the gems in the room. Even Jon was looking a little pale. “These gems are planning a rebellion, and you let them get away. THEN you let them destroy the warp pad, giving them time to escape. You idiots are supposed to be my TOP WARRIORS and you were outsmarted by a trio of service gems. You were beaten by gems that didn’t even have proper weapons!”  
Ryan held a finger up timidly. “Well sir, the orange gem came out of nowhere!” he stuttered, hoping to save his ass at least a little bit. Jack just looked at Ryan and shook his head slightly.  
Geoff grabbed Ryan by the throat and brought him right up to his furious eyes. “You think that’s an excuse? A single, tech gem managed to distract and attack you two clods to the point where you UNFUSED and let them escape!” Geoff growled as he clutched Ryan’s throat tighter.  
Ryan gasped for air. “P-please Geoff” He gasped, grabbing at Geoff’s fist.  
Jack intervened, scared for Ryan’s life. “Geoff, I understand why you’re angry, but we can make it up to you!” he nearly begged, looking at Jon to see if he would help them out.  
Geoff threw Ryan back into his chair. “You think I’m going to trust you traitors again? I don’t fuckin think so, you assholes are benched until further notice. You’re lucky you assholes are going to take a while to replace”  
Jon stepped forward. “Well Geoff, we do need someone to get those gems back, I could do it. I’ve been dying to get out of the office anyway” He said, trying to direct the conversation to something more productive.  
“No, I’m not sending a goddamn major political figure to shut down a shoddy attempt at rebellion. But these idiots aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.” He growled, not breaking eye contact with the terrified gems in front of him,  
Jon scowled a bit before looking over at the door. “Okay fine, how about we send one of those two schmucks?” He asked, gesturing towards the room where Gavin and Arin were likely eavesdropping on the conversation.  
Geoff considered it for a moment. “Those gems aren’t gonna hold up in a fight, but they might be able to persuade them to stop being such dickbags.” He thought, taking his attention away from Ryan and Jack. “If they can persuade them to come back peacefully, we can take them to prison without upsetting anymore civilians. Jon, you brilliant asshole. Send your assistant. Gavin wouldn’t be able to convince a servant gem to clean up his mess” he decided, nodding at Jon. “’lll leave you to get that organized”  
Jon nodded, turning towards the door to go tell Arin. He gave a solemn nod to Jack and Ryan before leaving the room.  
Once Jon left, Geoff returned his attention to the gems who had now relaxed slightly. He smiled a bit before walking closer to them. “And don’t think I forgot about you. This mishap will not go unpunished” He cooed, his eyes glinted in a way that was almost sadistic.  
Jack and Ryan exchanged nervous glances before bowing their heads and accepting whatever punishment Geoff had in store for them.  
Jon walked up to Arin’s desk, who was very clearly trying to disguise the fact that he had been listening to everything that had been going on. Arin noticed Jon standing at his desk and looked up. “Oh, hey Jon! Is… everything okay in there?” He asked.  
Jon just rubbed his forehead. “Not exactly. These three gems are proving to be way more difficult than we initially thought. That’s why we’ve decided that the best course of action was diplomacy. We need you to go talk them out of whatever stupid plan they have in store and convince them to come back. Just tell them that we won’t kill them, we’ll just… imprison them for eternity” He shrugged, clearly too stressed to really care at this point.  
Arin looked a little shocked. “Jon are you serious? Isn’t there anyone else who would be more qualified to deal with these criminals?” He asked, unsure of himself.  
Jon shook his head. “Nah buddy, you’re plenty charismatic. They’ll listen to you, you’re one of them! A gem of the people!” he schmoozed tiredly. “And to be honest Arin, you don’t have much of a choice. You don’t want to say no to Geoff right now unless you wanna be locked up yourself”  
Arin shuddered just thinking about what Geoff was capable of. “Alright, I’ll do it. Just let me know their location and I’ll bring them back” He said, slightly worried. This was a lot of pressure to put on an assistant gem.  
Gavin had been in near shock at the conversation. “What the bloody hell? Why aren’t I going with him? I’m plenty charismatic thank you very much!” He chirped frustratedly. “What a load of knobs” He grumbled.  
Jon just brushed him off, not wanting to deal with Gavin’s nonsense today. “They’re at the old spaceship junkyard. Probably trying to get one of those rustbuckets working. Just get it done before this gets any messier” He stated seriously before heading back into the office. “And don’t fuck it up”


	13. The Delinquents

Dan and Brian were hanging out in their training room, as per usual, going through their basic warm ups. It was late at night, but Dan and Brian rarely ever stopped training. The two went through their warm ups relatively quietly, both a little angry at the events earlier that day. Finally, after several minutes of silence, Dan piped up, slightly annoyed.  
“You know what really grinds my gears Brian? The fact that even though we are by far the best warriors in this stupid base, and yet we try to take a break and get chastised for it. Well I’m sick of it. We should be allowed to jam out whenever we want, because these guys couldn’t do anything without us. You and I have done these boring training exercises a thousand times. I don’t care what these tight asses say, I’m gonna play my music, and they’re gonna have to rip it away from me to stop me” He stated confidently, looking over at Brian.  
Brian glared at him, signalling to Dan that this wasn’t a good idea. They had already gotten in shit once today, and from what he’s heard around, today is not the day to test the Homeworlds patience.  
Danny frowned a bit. “Come on Brian, please? I’m so sick of being told what to do. Sometimes I feel like I wasn’t even meant to do this shit. Gems should love what they do, and I only fight because they tell me to. I would way rather just jam out. Come on Brian, just one jam sesh? I’d feel way better if we got through one” he pleaded, hoping Brian was feeling sympathetic.  
Brian simply let out a silent sigh before slightly nodding his head. Brian didn’t have many weaknesses, but Danny’s dumb puppy dog look somehow got him every time. As the two got themselves set up for a jam session they glanced towards the door often, hoping no one would walk by. It seemed that every time they tried to have fun, someone was there.  
As they finished getting themselves ready, they nodded at each other, feeling a slight amount of adrenaline. Then, without hesitation they launched into a song, performing without any inhibitions. The two jammed like they were designed to do it, and the stress and tension from their bodies evaporated. Several minutes passed without interruption, so they pressed on, singing and playing instruments and laughing, without a care in the world.  
And then there was silence.  
Before Dan and Brian could even explain themselves, Geoff burst into the room, looking positively venomous. Without a word, Geoff summoned his pistol, and shot two bullets into Danny and Brian, instantly forcing them into their gems. The instruments the two gems were holding fell to the ground with a crash, and Geoff simply watched as the gems and the instruments fell to the ground. After a moment, he walked over to the blue and yellow gem, and picked them up. “You fuckers picked the wrong day to disobey orders” He growled, walking out of the room.  
Geoff mulled over in his head what he were to do with the gems. Sure, he could crush them and make sure they never return. Or he could throw them into the prison and let them rot. But no, he knew he couldn’t do that. These gems were valuable, trained in a way that would take centuries to replicate. He needed them for the upcoming attack. So he would punish them until he needed them again.  
Geoff knocked on the door of the lab impatiently, mentally exhausted from the past 24 hours. After a second, Jeremy opened the door, rubbing his eyes. It was only the first few moments of his shift, and Suzy was late. Now one of the leaders of the Homeworld stood bearing down at him. “G-good morning sir” He stuttered, trying to sound professional but coming across as just tired. “How can I help you today?” He asked, now getting a little confused.  
“Put these gems into some objects and bring them back to me as soon as you’re done” Geoff demanded absently. “That’s an order”. He plopped the two gems into Jeremy’s hands before turning to leave. Jeremy recognized the blue gem right away. “Sir, isn’t this- He went to ask, but Geoff interrupted him.   
“Do as I say, or suffer the consequences of your disobedience” He stated seriously before walking away.  
Jeremy just looked at the gems in shock. “Y-yes sir” he stammered, turning to begin work on the gems.  
Jeremy worked diligently for several hours, not bothering to start anything else. After what felt like days of labour, two items sat on the Lab desk, perfectly harmless. The only odd thing about the objects were the two gems imbedded into them.  
A Dagger and a Music box, perfectly trapped.


	14. The Peacekeeper

The trio of rebel gems worked hard through the night, trying to get a spaceship to work. Unfortunately for them, every ship in the vicinity had been broken down for ages. Compared to the technology they were used to, these ships were practically prehistoric. Suzy had managed to find a ship that was salvageable, and had been working on it all night with Barry while Holly rested, still injured from the fight the day before.  
Barry and Suzy tinkered with the gadgets on the ship without much discussion, both of them too focused on escaping before they were found again. Barry wiped his forehead tiredly, leaning back a bit. “I’m gonna take a quick walk around, this things getting on my nerves” He sighed, looking for a reason to have some time to himself. Suzy just nodded, too focused on the wiring of the control pad to give Barry a full answer.  
Barry stood up and jumped off the ship, glad to get a bit of breathing room. This whole ordeal was over his head, and a small part of him regretted coming back at all. Just as he was losing sight of the ship, a light voice popped up behind him. “Hey Barry, wait up!” Holly called, trying to catch up to Barry’s fairly quick pace. Barry frowned, disappointed that his alone time would have to be put off once again.  
“What is it Holly?” He responded, trying to hide his disappointment. “Shouldn’t you be resting up?”  
Holly smiled a bit “Nah, I’m feeling fine, my gem wasn’t hurt at all” She said, gesturing to her back. “I just wanted to thank you for saving us earlier. I thought I was done for” She said a little shyly.   
Barry just shrugged. “What else was I gonna do?” He said nonchalantly, hoping she would drop the conversation.  
“Well you seemed pretty set on staying out of all this. It just means a lot to me that you came back is all” She said, sensing Barry’s discomfort. “Suzy and I would be goners if you didn’t step in when you did”  
“Well I knew the two of you would run into problems. I figured they’d figure out I met with you eventually. My best chance was to come with you guys. Plus, Earths not gonna save itself” He smiled slightly. He wasn’t sure how much he believed what he said, but it wasn’t worth dwelling over.  
Holly stopped walking and looked at Barry. “Look Barry, I don’t know exactly what brought you back, but I just want to say sorry. If I never brought you into all this you would be back home, safe. I didn’t want this to get so out of control.”  
Barry was quiet for a second before he went to reply, but just as he went to speak, Suzy’s voice yelled out from the distance.  
Suzy and Barry exchanged nervous glances before they darted back to the ship, weapons in hand. As they arrived to the rocket ship, they saw Suzy with her maces out, glaring at a pink gem in front of her.  
“I don’t know who you are, but you better get out of here before I smash you into pieces” She snarled, gripped her maces tightly.  
The bright pink gem held his hands up quickly “hey, hey, hey chill out for a sec. I’m here to talk, I don’t want to fight. My names Arin, I was sent by the Homeworld to keep the peace” He explained, feeling a little more scared now that three gems were staring him down.  
“Let me guess, the Homeworld will only torture us every OTHER day if we go with you” Suzy responded, not letting her guard down. “That sounds great, come on guys let’s pack up!” She said sarcastically.  
Arin sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Don’t be like that dude. Look, the Homeworld told me that if you come with me now, no fight, then your prison sentence will be much less severe. They don’t want a fight, so if you just come peacefully we won’t have any problems” He explained, hoping this would go smoothly.  
Suzy walked closer to Arin, her eyes still burning into him. “Does it look like we’re going to ‘come peacefully’ after all we’ve been through?” She sneered. While Suzy distracted him, Holly signalled for Barry to get into the rocket ship. Barry nodded, sneaking in, and began to fix the last bit of the ship.  
Arin began backing up slowly from Suzy, thinking how he can get out of this. “Hey, in just trying to help you guys out. If you don’t come with me NOW, the Homeworld is gonna get you guys, and trust me it will not be pretty”  
Suzy kept her pace up, backing Arin into the spaceship. “As opposed the pretty punishment they’ve got for us now?” She asked, bringing the mace closer. ‘You sure do drive a hard bargain”  
“Okay, how about we do thi-“ Arin went to say, but suddenly a loud rumble came from the ship he was backed up against. “What the hell?” He exclaimed, turning his attention to the ship.  
“NOW” Holly yelled, jumping into the ship as Suzy brought up one of her Maces and smashed it over Arin’s head, knocking him out almost immediately.   
Barry pumped his fist in success as the ship rumbled to life, but quickly turned his attention to the passed out Arin. “Now what do we do with him?” He asked, looking at Suzy.  
Suzy smiled, looking up at Barry. “We take him with us”


	15. The Inventors

Ray sighed, holding back a yawn while walking into the hub to begin another day of work. He sat down at his station tiredly and immediately began the morning reports. It took him nearly 5 whole minutes to realize his partner hadn’t shown up yet. He tapped the other gem next to him on the shoulder, who didn’t respond. Ray rolled his eyes before speaking up. “Hey asshole, Im trying to talk to you. Wheres Barry at? He’s usually early”  
The gem next to him shot Ray a dirty look. “Boss said he’s gonna be out for awhile” he spat before turning back to his work. Ray thought about flipping the gem off but figured he’d best not.  
“Whatever, he probably just got moved to another project or something” he mumbled to himself before turning back to work. A few hours went by of uninterrupted work, which was odd for Ray. He missed picking on Barry, he was always an easy target. After awhile, the doors to the hub slid open, revealing a gem heading straight for Ray. Ray didn’t pay it much attention, getting into his work for once. “If its paperwork just leave it on the desk, I’ll get around to it later” he waved off, not taking his eyes off the screen.  
“Actually, this is a little different than what you’re used to” Responded a calm voice. Ray went to respond sarcastically but shut up immediately when he looked up to see Jack, who seemed a little beat up for such a reserved gem. “You’ve been beckoned for a different purpose”  
Ray didn’t argue, knowing Jacks high rank within the Homeworld. He quickly stood up and followed without a word. It wasn’t until Jack had taken Ray to the science headquarters that he bagen to ask questions. “pardon me for asking, but can you please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Ray asked, looking into the labs they were passing, all full with gems working hard.  
“You have skills that are needed for a project that needs perfecting. And one of our scientists is down a partner, as are you” Jack replied formally, not slowing his pace. “Plus, its not like you were doing anything important”  
Ray couldn’t really argue with that response, so he just kept to himself until Jack stopped at a relatively empty lab. Jack punched some numbers into a keypad, and as the door slid open Ray noticed there was only one gem in the room.   
Jack nodded at the white gem before speaking to Ray. “Ray, this is Jeremy. You will be assisting him in the final steps of his invention. I’ll let him explain it to you. I need to get back to headquarters, I cant afford to be tardy” He stated, rubbing a bruise on his arm while talking. “Good luck to you both”  
Jeremy and Ray watched Jack leave quietly before turning to each other. Ray scowled a little, realizing he would be stuck with this nerd for who knows how long. He stuck out his hand to shake, which was left unmet. “Hey there, I’m Ray. Now could you please tell me why the fuck I got moved here” He said frustratedly.   
Jeremy just gestured to the blueprints spread out on the table. “I’ve been working on improving these ancient technologies to aid us in the invasion coming up. I’ve got most of it figured out, I just need someone to program it to do what I need it to do” He explained seriously, not bothering to check if Ray was following along.  
Ray squinted his eyes and adjusted his glasses. “This hunk of junk looks like its centuries old, why are we looking at it now?” he asked, sitting down at the table.  
“This technology was used ages ago to incubate gems. The Homeworld thinks it’s the best method to build up our army on our target planet, we just need to spruce it up a bit, upgrade it if you will”  
Ray nodded, writing down some notes. “So, what exactly does this thing do anyway?” He asked, trying to make out the prehistoric technology.  
Jeremy smiled a bit, pulling up a few pictures of what the machine could do. The images showed a vast, dark landscape, filled with holes in the ground. The land was completely deprived of anything living, leaving only the dark, useless earth. “It made the kindergarten”


	16. The Captive

Arin awoke with a start, lunging ahead but being stopped short part way through his jolt. “What the hell?” He mumbled, still feeling the pain in his head from… something. He looked down at his body, seeing that he was tied down tightly. No escape in sight. Upon further inspection, he realized he was in a bare room, filled with old technology and dust. He felt nauseous, but wasn’t sure why. He tried to remember what happened before he woke up here. Let’s see, he went to talk to those rebel gems, got threatened as expected, heard a loud rumble and… Oh no. Arin knew why he was nauseous. He was in a moving ship.  
In the control room, Barry tapped away at the outdated keyboard, trying to find the best route to Earth. They had been flying for a while now, and Barry had almost gotten a decent trajectory mapped out for the rest of the route. He was still shaken from getting this hunk of junk to work in the first place. The ship was fairly large, enough rooms for everyone to roam freely.   
Suddenly Holly entered, looking quite excited. “I’ve never been this far out of homeworld. The stars look even prettier than they do at home!” She said excitedly, walking over to the large window at the front of the ship. Her eyes were as big and shiny as the stars outside. Barry grumbled a bit, trying to focus on keeping the ship together. Holly didn’t notice his disapproval and instead jumped to stand next to him. “I can’t believe we actually did it!”  
Barry looked up from the controls, slightly irritated. “Well don’t get too excited. This ship is being kept together by hope basically. We still need to get to earth before we can focus in saving it” he said seriously, turning back to the controls. “and distractions aren’t helping”  
Suzy paced back and forth outside of the room they were holding Arin in. She knew she had to say something, but what was she going to say? Hi, I’m Suzy, I took you hostage so the Homeworld won’t blow us up! Probably not a good idea. She sighed, leaning against the wall, until she heard some scuffling from inside. It’s now or never.  
“Let me out of this shit!” Arin cried, struggling to loosen up the chains around him. After a few more angry expressions, the doors opened and the black gem from before walked through, looking a little unsure. “Hey! You maniac what the fuck do you think you’re doing? Turn this ship around before you regret it” He yelled, still struggling against the chains.  
Suzy took a deep breath before speaking, and looked at Arin sternly. “My name is Suzy, so call me that. And we aren’t letting you go. The Homeworld will stop at nothing to stop us, and that includes destroying this ship. By taking you hostage, they won’t attack us, and we can continue trying to save a planet. Y’know, that planet you guy want to suck all the life from?” She retorted, having a hard time keeping formal.  
“Hostage?!” Arin screeched, not letting up on his struggle. “You dumbasses, Homeworld isn’t gonna let you guys get away with this!” Arin spat. Suddenly he relaxed for a minute, remembering the gem on his hand. Duh. “Hostage this!” He cried out, more proud of his comeback than he should be. The pink gem on his hand glowed before a blaster formed around it. It took him just a second to get it fired up, shooting large blasts of energy at Suzy, who was caught off guard.  
“Hey!” She yelped, quickly summoning her maces to smash the energy ball into pieces. “Don’t do that shit, You’re still tied up you idiot!” she scowled, jumping at Arin quickly, smashing the Blaster with her maces. Before Arin could react, Suzy grappled his arms together, tying them up. “You really thought that was gonna work?” She huffed, a little tired from the unexpected burst of energy.  
“I’ll admit, not my brightest moment” Arin growled, tripping a bit when Suzy hoisted him up.   
“Clearly I can’t trust you to be alone” Suzy exclaimed, pushing Arin towards the door. “I’m sure the others want to talk to you anyway”  
Barry rolled his eyes as Holly continued to express her excitement at everything around her. She quickly shut up when Suzy pushed Arin into the room. “This idiot tried to attack me with his blaster thingy. I think we should keep him up here till further notice” Suzy sighed, pushing Arin to the corner.  
“Hey, watch it lady!” Arin snapped, falling against the wall. “You don’t know who you’re messing with!”  
Suzy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I kinda do”  
Barry and Holly exchanged glances. “Are you sure having him up here is really a good idea?” Holly asked, looking at Arin quizzically. “What if he messes with something?”  
“He should be fine, he’s tied up in every way I could muster” Suzy explained, crossing her arms.  
“Cant a gem get some time to focus??” Barry cried out, fed up with all the commotion going on. “I still haven’t heard back from the Homeworld about the hostage situation, and we’re just about out of range” he said, looking at the screen. “How long ago did you send out the message Holly?”  
Holly scratched her head. “Me? Sending the message was Suzy’s job. I was in charge of surveying the ship” She said, looking over at Suzy.  
Suzy shook her head, looking a little panicked. “No, I thought Barry sent the message. I was keeping an eye on that guy” She said, gesturing to Arin.  
Barry was silent for a minute. “I was in charge of flying the ship…” He murmured quietly, looking at Suzy and Holly.  
The ship was silent for a minute before Arin broke the silence. “You idiots took me as hostage, and didn’t even tell anyone!!??”  
Suzy, Holly and Barry rushed to send the message but just as they went to send it, a message blinked up in bright red.  
“Out of Range”


	17. The Framed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, just wanted to let you know that this I wont be able to update after this for a couple weeks now. I know my chapters are really short so I hope having these past few released so rapidly will tide you over until I can get back to updating. And thanks so much for reading! I can't wait to get back to writing this

Geoff stood in the Main technology hub, watching the hologram in the center steadily. His attention was focused on a single projectile just blinking out of range of the Homeworld. He looked over to Gavin, who was grasping his papers tightly, looking at the hologram with a fairly obvious look of panic. “That better not be what I think it was” Geoff stated sternly, not wanting to cause a scene… yet.  
Gavin looked over to Geoff slowly, gulping. “F-from what the technology gems are saying, it was an undesignated ship… from the old shipyard” He stammered, praying that someone else would be blamed for this.  
Geoff’s brows furrowed as he returned his attention to the hologram. “How did they get that ship running?”  
“Well sir, the rebel gems include a scientist gem and a technology gem. They must have found a… diamond in the rough if you will” Gavin answered quietly. “And from the last scans we managed to get on the ship, there are four gems onboard”   
“Four? There were only three gems that managed to escape…” Geoff stated, confused. Suddenly a look of realization hit him. “we need to get back to headquarters”  
Gavin could barely mutter a squawk before Geoff had stormed out of the room.   
Jon paced back and forth, mumbling to himself in his office. “Arin you idiot, where are you?” He grumbled, trying to keep himself from freaking out. He had sent Arin out to get those gems hours ago, it shouldn’t be taking him this long to at least send a message. This wasn’t good.  
Suddenly the doors flew open. Jon looked ecstatic for a moment before he realized it wasn’t Arin who entered the room. Geoff glared at Jon, looking livid. “Where the fuck is Arin?” He barked, crashing towards Jon.  
“I-I don’t know. He hasn’t sent a message back or anything. I’m getting kinda worried” Jon explained, unsure why Geoff looked so heated.  
Geoff shook his head. “Liar. Those rebel gems got one of those ships working, and the scans said there were FOUR gems onboard” Geoff growled, grabbing Jon by the neck. “Why don’t we play a little guessing game as to who that fourth gem is huh?”  
Jons eyes widened. Had Arin gone with them? Something seemed incredibly wrong. “You don’t think-“He went to ask, but was interrupted by Geoffs fist slamming into his jaw. The force of the punch forced Jon to the ground, shocked by what had just happened. Jon didn’t have time to defend himself before Jon grabbed him again and help him up high.  
“Shut the fuck up you traitor! I trusted you, and what do you reward me with? You turn on me? You sent your goddamn assistant to join the rebellion, and think I won’t realize that YOU were the one who put him up to it?” Geoff roared, slamming Jon into the wall. “Not even you get a free pass when it comes to treason” Geoff hissed right in Jon’s ear.  
Jon struggled for breath, trying to speak. Finally he managed to get a few strangled words out. “Geoff no, I didn’t-“He gasped, but again was interrupted by another punch to the head. “Don’t you dare lie to me you fucking traitor. You were one of the few gems I could trust to be by my side!” Geoff roared as he threw Jon to the ground. Geoff was silent for a moment, but Jon didn’t dare move up from where he cowered on the ground. After a moment, Geoff glowered down at Jon.“I hereby declare you guilty of treason. You will remain in the prison until I decide what to do with you” Geoff snapped, signaling for several guards to arrest Jon, making sure he couldn’t retaliate.  
“Geoff please!” Jon begged, barely able to hold himself together. “I wouldn’t ever go against you, we’re partners!” he whimpered, his head spinning from what he had just learnt, as well as the several blows he had been dealt.  
Geoff simply shook his head and turned away. “Save it. I don’t have time to deal with you right now, I have four traitorous gems escaping to Earth thanks to you. I need to plan my retaliation” He growled before waving the guards away. “I have no desire to look at your disloyal form. I’ll see you when I decide how I should deal with you”  
Jon screamed out, fighting against the guards.” Geoff, you bastard you can’t do this! I didn’t do anything Please!” he yelled, But the doors had shut, and the restraints were too strong, even for him. He let himself go limp as the guards carried him away to the prison. “Arin, what the fuck were you thinking” He mumbled quietly, unsure if he should be livid or terrified.  
Geoff stood perfectly still for a moment. Had he done the right thing? No matter. He can’t risk having a traitor in his midst. Plus, he had more important things to attend to. He picked up his hologram and dialled up a gem. “Yes, Jack? Get me the most qualified gems you have for an … expedition to Earth”


	18. The Grunts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm finally back! Sorry about this chapter being a little lacking in action, but I;ll be updating as often as I can now! I've got lots of stuff planned for future chapters, but for now I hope you enjoy a new chapter until I can get the ball rolling again!

Lindsay kicked at the ground angrily, taking her time as she walked through the city. Today was her day off, but even now she couldn’t get her mind off training. Almost every waking moment she dedicated herself to becoming better, stronger, more powerful. But she had agreed to visit a friend today, so she attempted to retire her thoughts for an afternoon. Of course, this didn’t really work. Even when she goes above and beyond, she’s still treated as an underling. She’s way more powerful than the others though. She’ll prove it one day.  
After a few more minutes of brooding she came across a cheap looking home. She knocked on the worn in door, and waited. It was only a few seconds later that a green gem answered excitedly. “Lindsay hey! It’s been forever since we got to hang out1” Matt chirped happily, greeting Lindsay into his humble home. “How’ve you been?”  
Lindsay walked in without much greeting. “As good as I can get. Training as much as I can, as usual” She grumbled, sitting down in the main room. After a moment of silence, and a barely contained look of excitement from Matt, Lindsay finally replied. “And how have you been Matt?”  
Matt smiled, sitting down next to Lindsay. “Oh just great! The prisons really running well lately. We’ve only had one incident, and it wasn’t even our fault!” He smiled. “Oh, and our gem corruption levels are higher than ever!”  
Lindsay gave Matt a look of confusion. “Does anyone ever tell you that you’re too excited about your job?” She snarked, wondering how such a low status gem could be so content.  
“Well I’m good at what I do, might as well enjoy it” He answered, getting that kind of a response a lot. “Not all of us mope around all day”  
Lindsay scrunched her face up before going off on Matt. “Moping around? Excuse you, but I actually try to get better at what I do. So while you’re scrubbing the cells of delinquents for the rest of your life, ‘I’ll be leading an army into battle” She said proudly.  
Matt rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure Lindsay. Because everyone knows gems move in ranks after they’ve been specifically made to do something”  
Lindsay frowned. No, gems didn’t really move ranks at all. But it’s happened before, and that means it can happen again. “Well there just aren’t enough gems that work as hard as I do. How much extra training or work do you do on your off time?” she asked with a sense of superiority.  
“Not any, because I work at a prison. I can’t work at a prison when I’m not on duty” he responded sarcastically.  
“Well that’s something a lazy gem would say. I train consistently. That’s why I’m the best” She grinned.  
“Yeah, the best grunt gem maybe” He quipped back. “Look Lindsay, I’m not denying you aren’t a skilled fighter, because you are. But it’s just not gonna happen. Grunt gems stay grunt gems, that’s why you were made.  
Lindsay frowned to herself. She doubted herself enough, she didn’t need her friend doubting her too. Just as she was about to throw an insult back at Matt, a knock on the door sounded. Lindsay and Matt exchanged glances, unsure who would come all the way out here.  
Matt quickly got up to answer the door, but it was busted into before he could even reach the handle. Matt’s eyes bulged as the gem at the door walked in without so much as a flinch.  
“Good, you two are together. I’ve been looking for you” The golden gem boomed.  
Lindsay stood up immediately in perfect form. “Ryan, sir, what are you doing so far out from the base?” She asked, without thinking to ask for permission to speak.  
Ryan smiled, looking at both Matt and Lindsay. “I’ve been sent to summon you both for an incredibly urgent expedition to the planet Earth. You two are to aid the mission in destroying a threat and preparing the planet for the upcoming invasion.”  
Lindsay grinned so hard her cheeks started to hurt. “I won’t let you down sir!” She said excitedly, saluting. But after a moment she looked over to Matt. “But why him?” She asked, getting a little mad that Matt was being summoned even though he doesn’t do anything important.  
“Because he has extensive first hand knowledge on gem corruption, as well as experience with torture methods. We plan on using both” Ryan responded firmly. “Now get yourselves ready and meet at the ship bay by tonight, or face the consequences” He huffed before turning back out the door. “And don’t be late”  
Lindsay was shocked. After all the training she had gone through, she was finally getting the opportunity to prove herself. Of course, Matt was also getting this opportunity despite not really deserving it. She decided to put it out of her mind for now and focus on the opportunity she had been given.  
“Alright Matt, I’ll see you tonight then!” She nodded before heading towards the door.  
“Wait, Lindsay you just got here! Why don’t you hang out for a bit longer?” He whined, excited for the one time he got to entertain company.  
Lindsay just turned to leave. “No time Matt, I’ve got training to do!”


	19. The Testers

Ray leaned back in his chair and sighed tiredly. They had been working on this hunk of junk for hours now, and by this point even when ray looked away he could see gears and bolts. “Jeremy PLEASE tell me we’re almost done this thing” He groaned, staring at the ceiling.   
Jeremy smiled tiredly before turning back to the device. “Almost there. We just need to test it now” He said happily. “Of course, I’m not going to unveil everything yet, but we just need to make sure it will work”. Jeremy typed something in his hologram device before sending it away. “Now we just wait for the test subject”  
After a while there was a knock on the door. Jeremy trodded over and opened it, revealing Gavin leading quite a few guards behind him, as well as a sullen, and heavily sedated, deep red gem in the middle. Gavin rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why you sods wanted an active gem, the machine is supposed to work on gems that ARENT living yet” He complained, signaling the guards into the room.  
Ray looked over to Jeremy, who had a dark grin on his face. “Oh don’t worry, the machine has always been able to grow gems. What I’ve been working on is a new feature” Jeremy explained mischievously. “Put the subject on the table”  
The guards obliged, forcing the gem up on the table and strapping him down. While the guards set up the test, Ray turned over to Jeremy with frustration. “The machine worked the whole time!? And we wasted hours to do something we don’t even need it to do?” He exclaimed angrily. “What a waste of time!”  
Jeremy just held his hand up to Ray before answering. “The machine was old and needed updating anyway. And plus, now it can be used as a weapon too” He grinned before walking over to the restrained gem. “Okay there prisoner, I hope you’re ready for a whole new type of torture” He said formally.  
The red gem grumbled, trying to focus through the sedatives. “Whatever you’re going to do to me, I don’t care. I’ve been tortured in every other way, try me” the voice grumbled.  
“Oh, dear Mark. I can assure you this will be a whole new experience” Jeremy answered. He smirked before turning to the machine. “Now, let’s get this started shall we?”  
Gavin just scowled. “This better not be a bloody waste of my time” he grumbled, looking over to Ray who had about the same expression.  
Jeremy just grinned before flipping a few switches. “It won’t be”.  
Jeremy finally hit a final button, and a surge of energy shot through the machine, directly at Mark. Before the machine even finished its shot, Mark yelled in agony as pain surged through his body. Jeremy was right, this was a pain even he had never experienced before. The pain in his body convulsed, and refused to leave. After a moment of the surging pains, parts of his body began… changing. Spikes began forming down his back, and his skin grew more rough and coarse. He could feel his eyes growing darker, and even his soul grew heavy. He screamed in agony again, desperate to escape this… feeling, but it didn’t go away. It seemed to bond into his form, and it was clear that these changes weren’t going away.  
After Mark had settled down, Jeremy took a few steps towards Gavin and Ray. “And that, my friends, is the gem corruption feature.” He explained proudly.  
Gavin looked at the machine, then Mark, then back to Jeremy. “What the hell just happened?” He exclaimed, totally lost as to what he had just experienced.  
Jeremy laughed. “It’s simple really. I simply took the power that the machine already has, which is to grow gems, and tweaked it slightly to corrupt live gems instead of grow dormant ones. It increases the process of gem corruption tenfold, and packs a punch too” He explained. “Pretty cool, right?”  
Ray eyes were bulged right out of his head. “Dude… that was insane! This is gonna make the invasion way better!’ he shouted excitedly.  
Gavin just signalled for the guards to take Mark off the table and bring him back to the prison. “Well you’ll have to get it approved by Geoff before we do anything with it” He crooned, until another figure appeared behind him.  
“It’s already been approved, that’s why they were working on it in the first place” Jack explained, letting the guards pass with Mark, nearly blacking out. “And now that we know it’s working just as intended, we can take it along with us in our trip to Earth”  
“Earth?” Ray questioned, looking at the equally confused Gavin and Jeremy. “We aren’t supposed to attack Earth for a few weeks”  
Jack nodded. “You’re correct. This is a scouting mission to make sure everything is ready to go. We also need to do a bit of… exterminating before we can go through with the invasion. And you are all a part of it” he stated. “So get ready, we leave as soon as possible”  
Gavin, Ray, and Jeremy just looked at each other as Jack left the room. Finally, after a moment of quiet, Gavin piped up. “Well let’s not dawdle then, get yourselves ready!”


	20. The Escaped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I finally wrote a new chapter! Sorry abour the wait guys, but schools back in which means I wont be able to update as often, but dont worry, i still have tons of plans for this story! I hope you guys like the chapter, its got more length to it than the other ones :)

Barry, Holly, and Suzy just looked at each other in disbelief at the blinking screen. The words burned into their minds. “Out of Range”. What a heavy message. For one, they completely forgot to mention their hostage. And this blinking red message cemented in the knowledge that there was no going back.  
Arin’s face was nearly beet red, and there seemed to be steam just aching to pour out of his ears. “You clods! Not only did you kidnap me, but you didn’t even tell anyone! Now they’re going to destroy this ship before it ever gets to Earth, with me still inside!” He fumed, trying to stand up and fight against the restraints keeping him tied up. “I can’t believe you dumbasses managed to get this far in the first place!”  
Suzy snapped her head back to Arin, looking furious. “This changes nothing, we are still going to Earth, and you are still our hostage! They’ll have to come find you sooner or later” She spat, though she wasn’t very confident in their new course of action.  
Barry rubbed his forehead. “It doesn’t matter, our trajectory has been set, and we should be getting to earth in a few hours. We need to make a plan for when we get there, and what to do with… him” He mumbled to the other two gems before gesturing to the pink gem, who looked like he was about to burst.  
Holly nodded. “Well it might be good to figure out where we’re landing. Then we can work from there” She said, attempting to keep up the spirit.  
Barry sighed before heading back to the control panel. “Well from the look of things, we’re headed to a fairly large continent called The United States. Not a very catchy name if you ask me. We should be landing pretty close to a large water source” He explained, looking at their estimated arrival area.  
“Okay, we can work with that! We can stay by the large water source, that way the Homeworld can only attack us from one side… right?” She asked hopefully.  
Suzy just shrugged before looking at the planet. This was her first time actually looking at the place they were going, oddly enough. She couldn’t help but think the little planet was quite pretty. “I think we should just worry about finding a place to set up shop before we get too into war tactics” She said sarcastically.  
Arin let out a large sigh. “Can one of you PLEASE let me go somewhere else so I don’t need to listen to you clods ramble on about how you ARENT going to survive?” he grouched.  
Holly looked over to Suzy, who nodded. “Alright fine, hostage. But if you try to break out again, there will be dire consequences” Holly stated, trying to sound powerful. Holly grabbed the restraints around Arin’s hands before pulling him out of the room and back into the bare storage room he had woken up in earlier. “You know hostage, if you actually listened to what we are trying to do, you might just change your mind on wishing death upon us” She shrugged, plopping him down on the ground.  
Arin furrowed his brows. “Yeah, let me just add that to the list of things that will never happen” He retorted. Holly just sighed and walked out of the room, locking the door behind her.  
Suzy and Barry returned to piloting the ship as Holly checked to make sure everything was still in operating condition. Several hours passed uneventfully, until finally a little blue message popped up on the screen. “Approaching destination”.  
Suzy squealed when she saw the message, desperate to see this world she had abandoned everything to save. It wasn’t until now that she really started thinking about what earth mght be like. Barry was the only one that actually had any idea what the planet held, and even then it was only what he could figure out from homeworld. None of them had really talked about earth, aside from how to save it. It was going to be their new home after all.  
Barry didn’t lose his focus, the ship hadn’t had any problems yet, but entering the atmosphere was going to be a whole new ball game. “Okay Suzy, homestretch, I need you to focus on keeping the ship running while I calculate the angle we need to enter at” He explained seriously, not moving his eyes from the screen.   
Suzy nodded, taking over most of the controls while Barry focused on the entrance. Here we go. It was finally happening.  
Suddenly Holly rushed in, looking pale. “Uh, you guys? Did you know one of the jet engines is smoking?” She said, showing holographic images of the sorry looking engine.  
Barry, for the first time in hours, looked up from the screen to examine the engine. His eyes quickly widened. “Oh shit, that’s not good” He explained, turning his attention back to the controls. “Holly, I need you to-“Barry was stopped short as the ship shuddered and the lights flickered. “Oh dammit” Barry groaned, smacking the controls. “The gravity of this stupid solar system is messing with the ship. Brace yourselves you guys, this is going to get ugly” Barry frowned. “Holly, go turn on the back-up generator, and fast!” He ordered, trying desperately to get the control panel working again.   
“I’m on it!” Holly nodded before running out of the main room. She quickly darted to the electrical room, trying to find the generator. After a bit of searching, she finally found it. “Yes!” She exclaimed, reaching for the power control when electricity spat out at her, solidifying the knowledge that this generator was a bust. Of course it was. Holly groaned and ran back to the main room, where Suzy and Barry were trying to control the ship through its bursts of power outages. ‘Its no use you guys, the whole thing is fried!”  
Barry rolled his head back as the power finally went out for good. The ship quickly began to lose control as they grew closer to the atmosphere of Earth. “God dammit… alright, get over here” He stated, gesturing for the two gems to come closer. “It’ll be a miracle if this ship doesn’t burn up, but at least we can try to stay safe in my shield”  
Holly nodded and sprinted over to Barry as the ship pulled to the left sharply, nearly sending the gems across the room. “Come on Suzy!” Barry gestured to Suzy, who was hesitating to come closer. “But what about the hostage!” She exclaimed, looking over to the door. “We need to save him too!”  
Barry looked at Suzy, shocked. “Suzy, we don’t have time, forget about him, you need to get in the bubble!” He cried, trying to keep his balance as the ship rocked out of control.  
“No, we can’t just leave him, he’s tied up still!” She pleaded. Barry looked at her, confused. Suzy furrowed her brows, before turning to the door and bolting. “We have to help him too!”  
Barry’s eyes widened as he watched Suzy dart out the door. “Suzy get back here!” he yelled, before turning back to Holly. “Ah dammit” He mumbled, before summoning an orange bubble around him and Holly. “She’ll have to figure it out herself.  
Suzy stumbled her way to the storage room here Arin was being held. “Are you okay?” She asked loudly as she unlocked the door, barely managing to keep herself standing. “Just give me a second, I’m coming in!”  
Arin leaned against the wall before being flung to the ground, unable to keep himself steady due to the restraints. “What the hell did you guys do!” He cried, clearly more scared than angry.   
“Just relax” Suzy ordered, forcing herself over to him. “I’m here to help!”  
Suddenly the ship seemed to suspend itself for just a moment before it began falling. They were entering the atmosphere.  
“What the hell is happening!” Arin cried out, falling and smashing into the wall.   
Finally, Suzy managed to make her way to Arin, grabbing him before summoning one of her maces and smashing it into the wall. She untied Arin’s hands before summoning her other one and smashing it into the floor. “Hold on to me!” She cried, as she gripped onto the maces tightly as the ship began spinning and falling towards Earth.  
Arin didn’t think twice, grabbing onto Suzy tightly as the maces held the two from flying around the room. The two held on with all their strength until light flushed the room.  
And then there was nothing.


	21. The Stranded

Everything was dark. Nothing moved for awhile, but amidst the wreckage of the ship, a burst of orange exploded from the ship.  
Barry nearly doubled over from keeping the bubble active for so long, as well as keeping him and Holly stable through the crash. “Well… We’re alive!” He huffed tiredly. “That’s better than what I expected”  
Holly was quiet for a minute, then she let out a shrill screech. “We made it! I can’t believe it! We are officially on Earth!” She sung, stepping out of the wreckage. They had landed… well, crashed right into a sandy beach. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the ocean was sparkling. Holly’s face was beaming as she took a step into the soft sand. “This. Is. Amazing!” She exclaimed gleefully.  
Barry rubbed his eyes, trying to keep himself focused. “Yeah, it’s pretty nice I guess” He muttered before snapping his head around. “Where’s Suzy?” he asked cautiously. “Oh no” he grumbled, digging through the wreck.  
Holly quickly joined in, flinging pieces of metal out of the way. She got so distracted she completely forgot that Suzy had ran after that… prisoner. “Suzy!” She called out, getting more anxious.  
Barry shook his head. “She doesn’t even know how to make a bubble big enough to protect her, what was she thinking!” He huffed, getting more desperate.  
After a few more minutes of hurried searching a voice called out from under the pile of ship parts. “Hey, down here!” the voice exclaimed, muffled by the debris.  
Holly and Barry exchanged looks. That wasn’t Suzy’s voice. They dashed over to where the voice was coming from and began throwing the metal out of the way. Finally, they uncovered the pink gem they captured, grasping tightly to Suzy.  
“Thanks for taking your time you clods, it’s not like we were in danger or anything!” He grumbled, hoisting himself up, still holding on to Suzy, who didn’t seem… awake.  
“Oh my god!” Holly muttered, grabbing Suzy from Arin, who seemed a little irked about it. “What the hell did you do to her?!” Holly fumed, immediately checking to see if the two gems on her forearms were damaged.   
“What did I do?! She’s still alive thanks to me, if you didn’t notice I took most of the damage!” He argued, gesturing to the many cuts and bruises covering his body. And he was right, Suzy had barely a mark on her. ‘She probably just passed out from the excitement or something, she’ll wake up soon” He mumbled, turning back to the wreckage. “Oh, and great job with the landing there heroes”  
Barry scowled at him. “Well I’m sorry that I kept you alive. If it were up to me, you’d be left in the wreckage, I’m sure no one would mind!”  
Arin’s face turned bright red. “EXCUSE ME, but if I recall correctly, YOU were the ones who kidnapped me, then didn’t tell anyone!” he yelled, stepping up to Barry, who looked equally furious.  
“I could care less if anyone knew you were here, the only good thing about you being here is that you can’t rat to your master about how ‘bad’ we are!”  
“Don’t you dare insult the Homeworld like that!”  
“ENOUGH” Holly growled, stepping between the two gems who were now inches away from each other. “We have bigger problems to worry about than your stupid pissing contest! Like if Suzy is gonna be okay or not?” She stated, gesturing to the unconscious Suzy, who Holly had laid gently down on the beach.  
Barry hesitated, not backing down immediately, but finally he stepped back. “Fine, let’s take a look at her” he grouched, stepping over to where Suzy was laying. He examined the gems on her arms before turning his attention to the rest of her form. “Well from what I can tell her gems are fine, and her form isn’t heavily damaged. Although it’s kinda weird she didn’t go back into her gem” He explained. “But it doesn’t matter, she should be fine in a few days”  
“A few days?” Holly sighed. “What are we going to do in the meantime?”  
“Well for starters, we should find a place to stay. It might not be safe out here” Barry responded, looking around their crash site.  
“…Theres a cave over there. It might work until we can figure something else out” Arin mumbled begrudgingly. The last thing he wanted to do was help these gems, but they WERE stuck on this stupid planet together. Might as well work together until he can figure something else out.  
“Yeah, that’ll do. Holly, you go ahead and scout it out, I’ll bring Suzy and keep an eye on… this guy” Barry stated.  
“My name is Arin, call me it” Ain spat angrily. Barry just rolled his eyes.  
“Will do!” Holly agreed, summoning her wings and flying ahead of the others.  
Barry hoisted Suzy up onto his shoulder before turning to the cave. He sighed, struggling to carry Suzy after the exhausting ordeal he had just went through.  
“Uh… y’know, I can carry her. I’m probably a little stronger at the moment anyway” Arin asked quietly, more concerned about the black gem than the one carrying her.  
‘What? No, you aren’t carrying her. You practically want us all to die” Barry responded tiredly. “I can handle it”  
“Dude, I pretty much saved her life already, and I never said I wanted you dead. I just wanted you to not, oh you know, kidnap me and force me into going to this stupid planet. Plus, you’re gonna like, pass out on me halfway to the cave.”  
Barry scowled a bit and sighed. “… Fine. But if you do anything stupid, I will beat your ass” He grunted.  
Arin smirked while he took Suzy off of Barry’s shoulder and into his arms. “No you won’t”  
The two walked silently side by side for a few more minutes before finally arriving at the cave. Barry slumped ahead, looking for Holly. Before he went to go call for her, she popped out of the cave with a smile.   
“It’s all clear in there! And plenty of room too, good pick… Arin” Holly piped awkwardly.  
Arin just nodded his head. “Alright, I’ll go put Suzy inside then and-“ uddenly, two black clothed individuals appeared behind the gems, seemingly out of nowhere.  
“You lot have a lot of nerve coming onto this beach…”


	22. The Pursuers

Geoff, Jack, and Ryan surveyed the chaos happening around them. They had finally gotten their crew together, and they had put together one of their most advanced ships to date to take them to Earth. The various gems scurried around, making final preparations before their voyage. Geoff smiled for the first time in days. “Now this is what I like to see. With this set up, those rebel gems don’t stand a chance” Geoff smirked, relieved that something was finally going well.  
Jack nodded, reading over his notes that detailed every aspect of the trip. Everything seemed in order. Every crew member was present, the ship was in perfect condition, all the supplies was already on board, and nothing could possibly go wrong. “Everything is ready to go sir, we should be leaving exactly on schedule”  
Geoff nodded, not taking his eyes off the ship. “Perfect, simply perfect. Ryan, go make sure everyone is ready to leave. And if there are any problems… deal with them”  
Ryan nodded solemnly before turning to the nearest gems, chatting excitedly. “It would be my pleasure, sir” He grinned.  
Ryan stalked up behind two gems talking happily. “Hello you two, I presume you are ready to depart?” He crooned menacingly.  
Ray jumped a bit before turning to face Ryan. “Jeez man, you can’t just creep up on a gem like that, give a guy a warning, alright” He blurted, not really taking into context Ryans high rank. “Yeah, I’ve been ready for like, ever. Are we leaving soon, I’m getting bored of this nerd box”  
Jeremy scowled. “Hey, I’ll have you know that you are just as, if not more nerdy than I am thank you very much” He grouched, getting cranky with all the inactivity.   
“As if, you know I’m way cooler than you. See, check this out” Ray taunted before summoning the gem on his wrist to produce a small flamethrower attached to his hand. He sent out a purple flame just above Jeremy’s head. “Just blaze Jeremy!” He sneered.  
Ryan grabbed Ray’s hand and flung it down, breaking the weapon. “Enough! Stop messing around, this is a very important mission. I won’t have you two behaving like heathens”  
Ray rubbed his wrist. “Ow, jeez okay weirdo”  
Across the room, Lindsay rolled her eyes as Matt went on and on about how excited he was. She considered summoning her scythe and shutting him up herself, but she figured that wouldn’t end well.  
“Man, I have heard so much rad stuff about this planet, you don’t even know. And oh man, this planets even cooler than just a regular planet because- oh, hey sir” Matt squeaked as Jack came up to the two gems.  
“Oh thank goodness” Lindsay mumbled under her breath before she saluted Jack. “Hello sir, how may I help you?” She responded, almost instinctually.  
Jack waved her off awkwardly. “Oh uh, you don’t need to do that. I’m just making sure you guys are ready to go, we should be leaving any minute now” He explained, checking his documents to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.  
Lindsay nodded. “Yes sir, I am ready for departure. And might I just say thank you for the opportunity you’ve given me, I won’t let you down!”  
Matt rolled his eyes. “Yeah, what she said” he mumbled. Even he was getting tired of Lindsay’s desperation, and that was no easy feat.  
Jack just smiled uncomfortably. “Uh yeah, I’m sure you won’t” he answered, backing away slowly. He wasn’t used to being saluted like that. It was weird.  
Gavin popped up beside Geoff, who was still surveying the area. “Uh, sir, we are ready to leave now. Just give the order when you’re ready” He stated seriously.  
“Thank you Gavin. I’ll get them ready to leave in just a moment, but let me enjoy this. This is the first time that everything has been working perfectly.” He grinned, hopping it would las through the whole expedition. “Do you have the targets locked?”  
“I’ve got their general area, but I couldn’t get the exact spot from so far away” Gavin answered, a little nervously.  
Geoff’s face wavered slightly. “… Well, I guess we’ll have to work with that.” He grumbled before turning to a microphone. “Alright everyone, this is your only notice. We are now departing, board the ship and find your stations immediately, anyone not on board will be left, and punished for their tardiness” He stated seriously. The gems let out a chorus of excitement before they climbed on board, ready to begin their voyage.  
Geoff turned to Gavin once everyone else was on board. “And you have the… last resort we talked about, correct?” He murmured, turning his attention to the green gem.  
“Oh, uh, Yes sir, here you are” he stammered, handing over two objects wrapped in cloth to Geoff, who grinned almost maniacally as he took them.  
“Perfect” He crooned, unwrapping the objects carefully. Gavin peered over to see what was so important, and there in Geoff’s hands were two seemingly harmless objects.  
A dagger and a music box.


	23. The Mayor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna go ahead and toss a language warning up on this chapter, it goes above and beyond, but damn if it wasnt fun to write. This chapter is more of a fun chapter before the real angst begins, also its something ive been wanting to write for like, ever.

“This beach is private property, owned by Beach City… it’s even in the name” Spoke one of the suited men. “And you’re going to have to talk to our mayor about what you’re going to do to repay your fine. Oh yeah, you’re fined by the way. For littering”  
Arin just stared at the men in bewilderment. “Excuse me? What are you?”  
The two suited men responded immediately. “We are the mayor’s bodyguards, we do all his bidding. He doesn’t usually leave his home, so he speaks through us. And this convenient speaker system we carry on us at all times”  
Holly looked over to Barry. “What’s a mayor?” She whispered, looking totally lost.  
Barry just shrugged. “as far as I can tell it’s an unimportant role in this species’ hierarchy. Rather archaic if you ask me.”  
“Enough of your blabbering, the mayor would like to speak with you now” Interrupted the man. He pulled out a monitor, which suddenly flipped on… at least the audio did. There seemed to be nothing on the screen. The gems exchanged confused glances.  
Suddenly a monotonous voice sputtered out from the speakers, sounding anything but enthused. “Hey what’s up everybody, this is Mayor Kritikal, I’m punishing these bastards, let’s do this shit. So I hear you titty faces have crashed on my beach. Fantastic. Now normally I would be all kinds of on board with this fuckery, but you happened to land ass first into my beach on a pretty big day. What the big day you ask? Well it’s my birthday you rude butt monkeys, and because it’s my birthday you will have to pay for you actions”  
Barry, Holly, and Arin stared at each other in disbelief. What was happening right now? “Um, excuse me… mayor, but we kinda just got to Earth. Honestly I don’t even know what you’re talking about. What is a birthday? Or a bastard… or a… titty face?” Holly asked cautiously, listing off everything in that sentence she didn’t understand. Which was a lot.  
“Wow, you guys really are useless as a turd in my ass crack. Tell you what, why don’t you go introduce yourselves around town, get a handle on the whole living on Earth thing, then once you aren’t totally shitting down my neck I’ll let you know what your punishment is for ruining my beautiful beach. Alright I’m done talking about this, be sure to rate my town, comment my town, and enjoy the town for conversations similar to this one. See ya.” And suddenly the system shut down. The gems were speechless.  
Arin was the first to speak. “What the fuck just happened?” he nearly shouted, looking at the two guards who hadn’t moved a muscle since they got to the beach.  
The guards just put the system away and turned back to face the gems. “You heard the mayor, go into town and introduce yourselves. Looking at the state of your ship thing, you guys are probably gonna be around for awhile.”  
“Look, we don’t have time for this. We have a serious problem on our hands, and it’s gonna become your problem if you don’t let us get back to it” Barry grunted, getting tired of this song and dance.  
“Sorry, Mayors rules. If you don’t listen to him, then you won’t be allowed to stay here. And you pretty much have no other place to go, looking at your friend there” The guard debated, gesturing to the still unconscious Suzy.  
Barry groaned. “Fine, we’ll go look around at your dumb town. But don’t think this makes us friends”  
“Good enough, we’ll see you later” The men retorted before turning and marching back to the small town the gems had only now noticed.  
Barry slammed his hand into his forehead. “Great. This is exactly what we need right after crash landing on a dangerous planet”  
Holly looked over at Suzy, who was propped up in the cave. “We can’t leave Suzy here by herself, and we definitely can’t leave Arin alone, so I’ll stay here with Suzy. You two go into the town and see what you can figure out. This is one of the species we came to protect, right?”  
Barry frowned. “Aw, what? You’re making me watch the hostage?” he argued, motioning over to the now pissed off Arin.  
“Yeah, and it’s not like he’s gonna go anywhere. He’s as lost as we are” She replied, sitting down next to Suzy. “If she wakes up I’ll fill her in and we’ll join you, but for now you two go ahead”  
Barry grumbled a bit to himself before sighing. “Fine, let’s go… Arin” He hissed, turning towards the town, not bothering to see if Arin was actually following him or not.  
“You do realize that I am right here! You don’t need to talk about me like I’m not!” Arin raged, getting fed up with the gems.  
Barry just shrugged. “Keep up slowpoke, we have a town to tour”


	24. The Community

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter has alot of references to other youtube groups by the way, but if you arent familiar with them please suffer through it, I promise I wont be focussing on them much! and sorry for the hiatuses, college is doing a number on me, but im not going to stop updating! I have way too much planned

Barry trudged ahead of Arin, who was trying to catch up. Barry made no effort to slow down. “Hey, wait up!” Arin called, jogging ahead to keep pace with Barry. “Hey!”  
Barry sharply turned around to face Arin, who finally managed to catch up. “Alright, Arin, if that’s even your real name, we need to set down some ground rules. We are not friends. We are not teammates. In fact, if it were up to me you’d still be in that wreckage. But for now, we’re stuck together. So let’s make this as painless as possible for both of us, okay?” he spat, not bothering to let Arin talk.  
“Normally that would be just fine with me, but we are on this planet together, so we might as well try to get along. And of course Arin is my real name, c’mon Barry” Arin snarked back.  
Barry glared at Arin before turning back to walk towards the town. “Don’t get your hopes up”  
The two walked in silence for a bit, Barry always staying a few steps ahead, until they came up to the town. Beach City. It was a quaint town, medieval compared to Homeworld, but it seemed… peaceful. Before the two gems got a chance to take it in, a human smacked into Arin, not bothering to look up from his tablet device.   
“Oh man, I’ve finally got this thing figured out! Oh, sorry about that, I’m just so into my research! All the strange going-ons of Beach City, I’ve been working on my theory for weeks now…”  
Barry glared at the human. “Watch where you’re going human, I don’t have time to dawdle” Barry scoffed, tired already of this species.  
“Human? That’s strange… by calling me a human, you’re implying that you are in fact, not human! Oh-ho-ho man this is EXACTLY the kind of evidence I need. My names Mat by the way, better known as MatPat online though. You see, I’ve been investigating the strange occurrences that happen in Beach City and making videos. And YOU two might be the strangest I’ve seen yet! Oh this is all still in early development, but my theory is developing! But that’s just a theory, a BEACH CITY theory!” Mat cried as he walked away, typing something into his tablet. Barry just looked confused.  
Arin watched as he walked away. “Well that was weird. This town looks super boring, what could a human possibly be researching”  
Barry just shook his head. “Who cares? Let’s just go see the rest of the town before I lose my mind”  
The two walked over to the boardwalk, which was lined with food stands. A pizza place, a fry stand, and a donut shop.  
Arin looked curiously at the shops. “What do they need so many of these things for? And what do they… do with them?” He pondered, not really paying attention to the frazzled Barry.  
The two walked towards the shops, only to have two men wave them down, one from the fry place and one from the pizza shop.  
“Hey! Pink guy! Over here! Don’t you want some delicious pizza!” The man waved, giving shifty looks over to the fry stand.  
“No, no come over HERE! We have way better food! Fries are good for anything, who eats a whole pizza to themselves!  
The man at the pizza stand frowned. “Dammit Joel! You always do this. These are my customers!”  
“Shut up Bruce, you’re just jealous that my fries are soooo much better than yours. Hey Spoole! Take a look at this guy! He thinks Pizza is better than fries!” called Joel into the back of the store. Another man, sporting a baseball cap popped his head out next to his curly haired partner.  
“Hey Bruce!” Spoole waved, not looking very competitive at all.  
“Spoole shut up!” Joel cried.  
Bruce frowned, turning back to another man in HIS booth. “James, Adam, these guys are taking our business. Look, you fry loving freaks, those customers are OURS! We work way too hard to have you guys steal it”  
“STEAL IT!” A sixth man called out from the fry shop, pushing Joel and Spoole out of the window. “THIS IS A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY BRUCE”  
“SHUT UP LAWRENCE”  
The six men yelled back and forth until a single man walked out of the donut shop, and before he even made it to the food stands, the six men were quiet.  
“You guys aren’t being very productive. Also, you scared away your customers” Said the man, gesturing to Barry and Arin who had walked away during the madness.  
“…Sorry Peake” Crooned the six men, returning back to their positions. Peake just nodded his head. Before returning to the donut shop.  
Barry and Arin barely even looked back until they were well out of sight of the boardwalk. “What the hell is this place, everyone here is out of their minds!” Barry groaned, looking at the rest of the town tiredly.  
“Well it’s over now, let’s go find those dudes in the black suits and get what we need to do from the mayor or whatever” Arin suggested. Barry nodded, but as soon as they turned around the men were already there.  
“Oh, JESUS! Where did you come from?” Arin jumped, swearing he didn’t see them before.  
“We noticed you’ve met some of the locals. Anyways, there’s an urgent message the mayor needs to give you” The men spoke before pulling out the electronic device from before. After a moment the monotonous voice from before picked up.  
“Hey assholes, it’s me again. I found a way for you to repay your debt” Mayor Critikal hummed, not waiting for a response from the two gems. “Turns out the towns under attack again by one of those weird monster things, go beat the shit out of it and we’ll call it even”  
Barry and Arin exchanged nervous glances. “Weird Monster things? Again?” Barry questioned, looking completely lost. “What are you talking about?”  
“You think you two Technicolor freaks are the first ones to end up here? For some reason these weird monsters just fall from the sky for no reason, it’s been happening for as long as I can remember. Usually we just ignore it and hope the assmonkeys run away or something but now that youre here you can beat the titties off it.”  
“Fall from the sky? What in the hell are you talking about? There’s never been another gem here… We’re the first” Barry sputtered, beginning to look worried.   
“Well you two are certainly the most normal looking rainbow brite fucks we’ve seen, but you certainly aren’t the first”  
“Whatever, we can figure it out once we see whatever it is. Where is this thing?” Arin interrupted, hoping that whatever’s on the beach is… not what they think it is.  
“Well by my estimates its right around where we found you assholes the first time” Critikal responded.   
Barry’s eyes grew wide as he turned to Arin, who looked equally shaken. “Holly and Suzy are still out there”


	25. The Informant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I AM NOT DEAD
> 
> Im sorry for the super long hiatus, bu I only have two more weeks of school this semester then I PROMISE I'll update way more. I will hopefully have anothe chapter coming soon, and things are going to get exciting please dont hate me lol

Geoff paced nervously around the ship, waiting for something to go wrong. Because knowing his luck, something would. The ship was in pristine operating condition, it wouldn’t take them long to get to Earth, but something was nagging at the back of Geoff’s mind. Like he was forgetting something important. Just then, Jack and Ryan walked into the room, looking content.  
“Everything is going along smoothly sir!” Jack piped, proud of how everything was working out. “We even think we’ve located where the rebel gems are on the planet. Shouldn’t be long now!”   
Ryan nodded, though looking much less interested than the orange gem next to him. “Each member of the crew is hard at work at their stations, and don’t worry, I’ll make sure it stays that way.” He grinned darkly. Jack shuffled away a little bit.  
“So, sir… What exactly is the plan once we get there?” Jack asked, still a little unsure on how they were going to deal with the gems.  
“I want them captured alive. Killing them won’t be good enough, they’ve fucked with my plans too many times to get off that easy. The device I had Jeremy and Ray work on will be used, I assure you.” Geoff explained, toying with the cuffs of his suit jacket. “I want you two to lead the search party. Do not disappoint me again” He hissed, not bothering to make eye contact.  
Jack and Ryan nodded anxiously, remembering the last time they fell short of Geoff’s expectations… They did not plan to make the same mistake again.  
“I figured since we are going to Earth anyway, I wanted to plot out the future kindergartens as well, kill two birds with one stone so to speak” Geoff rambled, pulling out a blueprint from the table next to him. “I brought a few of the standard machines along to get one started, might as well squeeze as much of this trip out as we can”  
Jack peeked over at the blueprints. “So we’re just going to get a head start on the attack then, correct?”  
“Not quite. I don’t want to scare the native species just yet, I have enough shit to deal with. I just want to make sure the land is as useful as I’ve been told.”

Suddenly a voice sparked into the room from the intercom. “Um, sir, you may want to come see this” Gavin’s voice choked, quickly dissolving into the air again.  
Geoff just put his fingers to his temples. Right on schedule. “I couldn’t have one damn thing go right, could I?” He grumbled, pushing Jack and Ryan out of the way.  
Geoff made his way to the main control hub, quickly forcing his way to the center where there was now a crowd forming around Matt, as well as the diagram depicted on screen.  
“What the hell is going on?” Cried Geoff, looking at the monitor, where Earth was displayed. The diagram was covered in lights, obscuring large parts of the planet. “What the fuck is that?” He growled, looking over to Gavin, who was sweating while tapping at the computer.  
“Well sir, I-uh discovered why I was having problems finding the rebel gems” He squeaked, still tapping madly at the buttons in front of him. “It wasn’t because we were too far away, its because, well… the planet is covered in gem activity”  
“What the fuck are you talking about?!” Geoff snarled, pushing bodies out of the way. “There are no other gems on that fucking planet besides the rebels!”  
Just then Matt popped up, even more nervous looking than Gavin. “Well, I tried to bring it up a few times sir, but this planet… Well it’s one of the planets we used in the past to… discard fully corrupted gems. The Prison was getting full, and hundreds of years ago we began discarding them on old planets… I never thought one of them would be useful” Matt stammered, looking for some sort of sympathy on Geoff’s face.  
“So you’re telling me that in the research you idiots have been doing, it never occurred to you to check for gem activity?!” He rumbled, causing many of the gems to back away from the scene.  
“Well, I suppose it was never something that we thought we would have to look for” Gavin whimpered, looking at the energy covered diagram of Earth.  
Geoff just closed his eyes and took a step back. “You idiots have really fucked up this time”


	26. The Endangered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I WAS JUST BEING A LAZY DICK BUT ITS A REALLY GOOD CHAPTER SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT

Holly squished her toes into the sand outside the cave as she waited for Suzy to wake up. She took a deep breath, taking in the view. She was still in shock that they made it out of Homeworld in one piece, let alone made their way to Earth. She looked over at Suzy, who was still out, and wondered to herself why she didn’t just poof, like any other gem would. Just then, Suzy’s eyes flittered open. Within a matter of seconds, Suzy was upright, looking panicked and incredibly disoriented.  
“Where are we, where’s everyone else, are we dead!?” Suzy sputtered, standing up quickly, trying to take in her surroundings. Holly scrambled over to Suzy as soon as she heard her voice. “Oh my goodness Suzy it’s about time!” Holly gasped excitedly, relieved that Suzy was okay.  
Suzy looked down at the sand she was sitting in. This certainly wasn’t a space ship. “Are we… on Earth?” She asked, with a bit of hesitation. A part of her didn’t want to hear the answer, in case this was some cruel prison the Homeworld thought up.  
“Yes!” Holly squealed, helping Suzy to her feet. “It was a pretty close call, but everyone ended up getting here in one piece. Well, except the ship. That things pretty much dead and gone” Holly waved off, gesturing to where they had crashed earlier.  
“Where’s Barry and that… other gem?” Suzy asked, looking around the cave, letting her eyes adjust. They weren’t too deep in the cave, but the last thing Suzy remembered seeing was blinding white light. Her vision still needed adjusting.  
“Oh, that’s the best thing that’s happened yet! Well, besides not dying in a fiery blaze… We met some humans!” Holly squealed, jumping up and down. “They’re pretty strange, but they didn’t seem too scared of us. Actually now that I think about it, they weren’t really phased at all” Holly pondered.  
“Humans?” Suzy asked, everything finally clicking again. “This is… Amazing!” Suzy smiled, letting the excitement of their situation wash over her. “Can I… go and see one?” she asked, trying to peek out of the cave.  
“Woah woah woah there, you took a pretty tough beating, lucky that Arin gem took most of the damage. You should rest a little longer before we go adventuring” Holly quipped.  
“Oh… right” Suzy said, remembering the pink gem and how they helped each other hit the ground safely. She blushed a little.  
“But you have to take a look at the ocean!” Holly said excitedly, pulling Suzy out of the cave and into the sunlight. The water was a stunning blue, with gentle clouds floating ahead. A trail was still visible in the sky from the spaceship, giving the sky a more torn look. The sand was soft and squishy, something Suzy had never experienced on Homeworld. She took a deep breath, taking in the salty air around her. Happiness pooled within Suzy as she smiled wide.  
But of course, this feeling wasn’t going to last forever.  
A sickening screech pierced the air as the two gems whipped their heads to the source of the noise. The ground rumbled beneath their feet as something loomed closer.  
Suzy resisted an eye roll. Of course she couldn’t enjoy the moment. She braced herself and locked eyes with Holly, who looked much more shaken than Suzy did.  
“What the hell is that?” Holly yelped, getting ready to flee, when her question was abruptly answered.  
A massive green creature crawled out of trees, resembling an unholy mix between a spider and a scorpion. With a razor sharp tail and 8 spindly legs, the beast was dangerous, and seemingly furious. Seems the beast wasn’t fond of the commotion. In the middle of the beast’s back was a shining green crystal, though the type was difficult to recognize, but it was unmistakeable. This beast was a gem.  
“How the hell did that thing get here?” Holly cried out, summoning her wings and getting ready to fly away, with Suzy in hand. Before Holly could lift off, the beast dashed towards them, forcing the two gems to jump in opposite directions.  
“We can figure that out later!” Suzy yelled back, summoning her maces quickly. This thing needed to be taken down. Suzy jumped towards the beast, but was quickly knocked away by the beast’s massive tail. “Dammit!” Suzy croaked, pulling herself out from the sand.  
Holly reached out for Suzy, but was forced to jump back as the beast stomped towards her, raising its legs in the air. Holly threw her wings around her, protecting herself from the force of the Beasts legs, though the wings shattered around her as she jumped out of the way.  
“Suzy!” Holly cried out, lunging towards Suzy, avoiding the legs of the beast crashing down around her. “Suzy we need to-“Holly yelled, before being kicked to the side by the beast.  
Suzy smashed her mace into one of the legs of the beast, shattering the appendage and causing the beast to cry out in pain. “Holly hold on!” Suzy cried, diving towards her. “We just need to aim for the legs!” She gestured, pointing to the currently incapacitated creature. Though after just a moment, as the gems picked themselves up, the leg began to reform. Slowly at first, though quickly reforming completely before the beast turned to face them again, this time far angrier.  
“Of course” Suzy huffed, as she positioned herself again. She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.  
“Suzy… we need to fuse!” Holly croaked, keeping an eye on the beast. “Neither of us are strong enough to deal with this thing on our own”  
Suzy’s eyes widened. “I… no, we can do this!” Suzy stammered, turning her attention away from Holly quickly.  
Holly clenched her fists. “Suzy please! We aren’t strong enough, not after what we’ve just been through. You ere unconscious like 5 minutes ago! Its our only-“  
“I SAID NO!” Suzy yelled, much louder than she intended to.  
Holly recoiled a bit. She went to respond, but before she was able to, the beast was on top of them, going for the kill.  
Suddenly, pink balls of energy flew into the air, smacking the beast in the back. The beast quickly turned its attention to the source. Arin and Barry stood on the cliff above, weapons at the ready. “Arin, you stay up here and distract that thing, I’ll go down there” Barry ordered. Arin gave a solid nod before Barry jumped down, dashing towards the pink and black gems.  
“Are you guys okay?” Barry asked, watching as Arin coaxed the beast away from the trio.  
Holly nodded, giving a prolonged stare to Suzy before turning her attention to Barry. “’Yeah, I was just saying that none of us are strong enough to fight that thing on our own. Not right now.”  
Suzy frowned. “Look, we can take this thing. I can take this thing!” She stated firmly. “We don’t need to… fuse” Suzy grimaced, turning her attention to the beast. “Now let’s go”  
Without checking to see if her cohorts were following her, Suzy launched towards the beast. Her maces high in the air, she began smashing the legs furiously. But every time she smashed one, another would grow back.  
Arin looked down at Suzy. “Hey, stop! You’re just going to make it more-“Arin yelled down, but was interrupted by a swing from the beast’s tail, sending him down towards Suzy. “Well great” He said sarcastically, backing up against the cliff, where Suzy was still trying to knock the beast down, with little effect.  
“Stupid…thing…” Suzy huffed, finally slowing her pace. Arin gritted his teeth.  
“Well, this isn’t looking good for us, is it?”  
The beast reared up again, ready to crush the two gems, literally between a rock and a hard place, when a blinding light flashed from behind him. The beast turned to see what was happening, as Suzy and Arin dashed away from the cliff wall.  
There, where Barry and Holly stood before, was a gem of an electrifying sunset hue, adorned with elegant fabrics of all kinds, draped elegantly around the gems strong, slender stature. The gem was wielding two magnificent orange wings, stretching several feet each, and dazzlingly iridescent. The Gem pursed its lips, and positioned itself. “I have had about enough of you, my dear. It is time to say adieu”.  
The gem gracefully swung the wings around, made of an incredibly durable, shield like material, and sent the creature flying into the cliff wall beside Arin and Suzy, whose jaws were on the floor.  
The sunset gem, with soft well-groomed hair and an elegant essence, attacked the gem with the shield like wings repeatedly, smashing it further and further into the cliff-side until a puff of green smoke floated out of the crater. The sunset gem turned its attention to the awe struck Suzy and Arin and gave them a wise, yet slightly cocky smile. “And that, my dear friends, is how you take care of business.” And with that, another flash of blinding light appeared, and in the sunsets gem place were Barry and Holly, looking positively exhausted.  
Suzy dashed to help Holly and Barry, while Arin ran into the, now massive gap in the Cliffside. “Are you guys okay?” Suzy asked, helping Suzy and Barry stay standing, though Holly showed some resistance. “That was… incredible!” Suzy grinned, looking at Barry, who looked particularly pleased.  
Holly coughed. “Well I only did it because we had to” she said, with a hint of anger in her voice. Suzy looked down at her feet.  
Arin walked over to the trio with the green gem in hand, safely stored in a pink bubble. “So what should we do with this thing now?” Arin asked cautiously.  
Barry straightened himself out before looking Arin in the eyes. “We keep it somewhere safe”.


End file.
